Take it off
by frangipani blossom
Summary: Moments in the lives of Barry and Iris... New Chapter is up! Third Part of "Rush Hour" is finally up - you can find it at chapter 16!
1. Take it off

**So, I stumbled over a list of prompts on tumblr and this one just stuck. And in honor of the WestAllen episode from yesterday (holy guacamole! what an ep!) I thought I would post it today. I hope you'll enjoy!**

**Prompt: "You heard me. Take. It. Off."  
**

"What?" Barry couldn't believe his ears, he definitely must have misheard her.

But that look that Iris was shooting him over her nearly-finished bowl of cereal was dead-serious: "You heard me. Take. It. Off."

Barry just blushed furiously, opening and closing his mouth without making a sound, gesturing wildly.

"Barry. Allen." Uh-oh. It was never a good sign when Iris started using his last name. As long as she refrained from saying his full name, he still had a chance of survival though.

"Under no circumstances am I gonna let you leave this house in that hideous sweater, not over my dead body! So, you better take that thing off right now!"

"Um..." was all Barry could stutter. All he had wanted was to get to the bus station on time, so that Joe wouldn't regret leaving the two teenagers before they had to head to school. He hadn't thought that throwing on the first pullover that he could grab would cause such an outrage.

Iris just rolled her eyes and got up from her chair, making her way past Barry and towards the stairs. "Come on, I'll find you something that doesn't make people want to scratch their eyes out – and yes, I am aware that my grandma knit that for you," she added without even bothering to throw a glance at Barry, who was just about to make a remark while following Iris to his room.

"Because let's be honest: however good Grandma Esther's intention and eggnogg might be, knitting is very obviously not her strong suit. And this isn't a sweater to wear in public, believe me."

Iris opened the door to Barry's room, heading straight towards his dresser, till she finally turned around to face him.

"So, top drawer?" she asked, waiting for Barry's ok.

"Um, no... second," he answered hastily, not eager to have Iris sort through his socks... and underwear.

Iris seemed unfazed by that prospect, apparently just eager to get her best friend out of that terrible sweater, and pulled the drawer open to scan it for something wearable. It didn't take her long to find something more agreeable. She fished out a blue sweater, shaking her head in disbelief: "Seriously, it's like you picked out the ugliest sweater on purpose. Everything else in here is just fine."

Before he could say anything in his defense, Iris threw the azure pullover in Barry's face, giggling at his reaction.

Making her way out of the door, she couldn't help but add: "Now hurry up before we get too late to school, just because you're completely hopeless without me."

"Har, har, har," he mock-laughed quietly, thinking how Iris' simple existence made him a hopeless case already, pulling Grandma Esther's sweater over his head.

Iris' head popped up in his doorway, grinning smugly: "I heard that."

**Soo... that's all for now, although I have an idea for a second chapter floating around in my head, but it's nothing specific yet. I just have a dire need for little!Barry and little!Iris (okay, they are already teenagers here but you get my point ;) and I really love the idea of Barry being fully integrated into the _entire_ West-family... ^^**


	2. Truth Hurts

**Hi guys, I'm back! Thank you all for the likes and reviews! **

**Truth Hurts (OR: The Return of Grandma Esther's Ugly Sweater)**

_***Clank*** _

Iris had just thrown her keys unerringly into the small ceramic bowl on the bureau by the front door while entering Barry's and her apartment, a glance on her watch informing her that she barely had made it on time.

"HA! Are you ready for the madness that is **THE** West-slash-Allen-Movie-Marathon? You better have the popcorn ready... And I hope you made one bowl for yourself mister, 'cause I ain't gonna share – not after you ate all of the popcorn in 4 seconds last time!" Iris announced happily, letting her bag unceremoniously plunge to the floor. No reaction.

"Bear?"

Nothing.

Iris's eyes scanned the room for any sign that could clue her in about the whereabouts of her boyfriend: hmm... the DVDs were already stacked on the coffee table, so he actually must have been here before her (he had been on time!) and – was she smelling brownies? A short stroll to the kitchen affirmed that – a pan of freshly baked brownies was sitting on the counter. Iris licked her lips unconsciously – the brownies were still pretty warm, so Barry must have left just before her arrival... And, as there were no shoes missing from the wardrobe, there was only one reason left to explain his absence...

As if on cue, Iris' cellphone rang; caller I.D. informed her that it was Cisco.

Sighing, she answered: "Hey, Cisco."

"Hi Iris," the S.T.A.R. Labs engineer replied, sounding a bit sheepish, "ehm, Barry asked me to tell you that he will be late for... ehm, movie night? He's a little... held up.. literally, there is a robbery at Central City National Bank..."

Iris couldn't help but roll her eyes at Cisco's (most likely intended) pun:" It's fine, I guessed something like that already... Just inform Barry to hurry up and come back in one piece" - she really wished that she were one hundred percent joking, but Barry had a way to incur the most drastic injures and speed-healing or not, it was still freaking Iris out at times - "I _will_ blame him for not preventing me from eating all of the brownies on my own..." She could hear a snort from the other end of the line as well as an, "will do", before Cisco said good-bye and hung up.

Iris plopped down on the couch and let out another sigh. She really had been looking forward to their movie night – actually, she had been looking forward to spending some alone-time with Barry, period.

This week had been super-busy; either she had been occupied with investigations for the newspaper or he had been working at the police station or running around as the Flash... that way, they hadn't been able to spend half as much time as they were used to and Iris was missing Barry like crazy (which was kind of weird, considering that they were living together nonetheless, but hurried conversations over breakfast cereal and equally hurried hello- and good-bye kisses just didn't cut it).

Having to wait another hour shouldn't bother her so much, but all the anticipation that had been building up with the passing of every single hour, left her with an aching feeling in the chest.

And it would surely take Barry another hour or so (maybe just 40 minutes, if she was lucky), even if he already had taken care of the bank robbery by now... On his way back home he's going to encounter at least seven different incidents that require his attention... Iris loved that Barry cared about everyone and used his powers to help, but days like this made her wish that he was a teeny-tiny bit more self-centered... only, that this wasn't true.

She rose from the sofa and trudged to the bedroom to change into some more comfortable clothes. After getting on a pair of sweat pants she rummaged the dresser for a comfy sweater; it was kinda cold, after all... She didn't find anything in her drawer that was fitting her mood, so she decided to have a look at Barry's clothes. Just when she decided to fish out one of the S.T.A.R. Labs pullovers he owned, her eyes got caught on something very interesting...

With an impish smile she put on the S.T.A.R. Labs sweater, that smelled like Barry (that alone would have been enough to lift her spirits) and pulled out the item in question... Then she made her way to the kitchen to prepare the snacks and get the popcorn done, whistling an upbeat melody.

* * *

Only twenty minutes later, Iris heard the familiar "whoosh" - sound that announced Barry's arrival.

"Sorry, I'm soo sorry for being so late, but I couldn't make it sooner – well, maybe if I hadn't spotted or just ignored that missing parrot on my way home, but – you should have seen the face of that little kid when I had dropped that bird off, he was soo happy to get his pet back (although I'm a little concerned by how many swear words the parrot of an eight-year-old knows nowadays) and-"

"It's alright, Bear," Iris interrupted his rambling, leaning over the backrest of the couch to calm him down with a kiss. "I just finished the preparations for our movie-marathon, so you are just on time."

Her eyes twinkled with mischief and naturally, Barry noticed that.

"Why do I have the feeling that you just discovered some kind of blackmailing material?" he asked cautiously, fidgeting.

"I wouldn't call it blackmailing material," the journalist assured him, grinning, "but I didn't expect to find **a very peculiar thing** in your drawer..." Now, Barry just looked utterly confused.

"How about you take off your suit," Iris nodded to the Flash costume that he was still wearing, "and change into... this!" And with a flourish, she produced the ugly sweater from Grandma Esther.

"Aww, man, you'll never let me live this down, won't you?" Barry shook his head in disbelief, chiming in Iris's giggles, nevertheless.

"Never," she laughed, "you were about to go to school in this... _thing_!"

Barry rolled his eyes good-naturedly and shortly disappeared in a blur. When Iris could see him clearly again, he had changed into some gray sweat pants but was still wearing the upper part of his suit. He extended his hand with a grin: "Let me amuse you."

Iris beamed at him and threw the sweater into his face gleefully. Barry changed into Grandma Esther's self-knit pullover at normal speed, jumped over the backrest and plopped down right next to Iris on the sofa.

"Happy?" he asked, snatching a brownie from the pile on the coffee table (hadn't he baked more?) and stuffed it into his mouth.

"My hero," Iris teased, kissing brownie crumbs off the corner of his mouth.

"Let's be honest: you love the brownies more than me!" he fake-huffed dramatically, breaking out the puppy-dog-pout.

"The truth hurts," Iris shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, her sparkling eyes betraying her, "but not as much as-"

"this sweater hurts your eyes, I know," Barry finished the sentence for her, smirking. "That day, you made quite clear how hideous it is," he went on, grabbing some chips.

"I was just trying to protect you," Iris defended herself, grabbing the collection of DVDs – if they wanted to make it through the usual three to four movies, they better got started soon.

"You wouldn't have survived that day at school – and, teasing you is soo entertaining," she flashed him another grin before she turned her attention back to the DVDs, trying to bring them into the perfect order to watch. "Besides, I might have used the opportunity to sneak a peek while you were changing," she added sheepishly, while Barry nearly choked on the chips.

"What?" He asked, still coughing, eyes wide.

"Not like I'd never seen you shirtless before, but it was kinda fun when you were so unsuspecting," Iris shrugged, finally content with how the DVDs were assorted.

Barry still looked at her in disbelief.

"Come on Bear, we were teenagers and hormones were raging in our bodies and even though you were ridiculously scrawny and these,"she poked him in the stomach, where the ugly sweater obscured his abs,"are now very much appreciated," Iris gave him a flirtatious smile, "you were still very handsome.

So," she continued and got up to stride to the tv, while Barry was still looking completely flabbergasted, "how about we get this '_**Movies-based-on-Roald-Dahl-books-Marathon**_' started?"

**Fin.**

**So, I hope you all liked it (and maybe this made you like Iris a bit more, Guest-that-can't-stand-Iris-at-all). I'm thinking of turning this fic into a compilation of one-shots I'm planning to write, so maybe I'm gonna change the title sooner or later...**

**In case you are wondering why I made Iris and Barry have a 'Movies-based-on- Roald-Dahl-books-Marathon' (like my sister was ;), I have a couple of reasons:**

**1\. themed movie marathons are the best**

**2\. I believe Iris would really enjoy film adaption of books (as long as they are good, of course)**

**3\. any nerd movie marathons like Star Wars or Harry Potter or other stuff would have Cisco (and probably Caitlyn) as well ;)**

**4\. I can imagine little!Barry and little!Iris watching Matilda, The Witches, Willy Wonka &amp; The Chocolate Factory and Gremlins together... Plus, in these stories "impossible" things happen in an apparently ordinary world... Don't tell me that these two wouldn't be totally into these kinda movies ;)**


	3. Laundry AU

**AU Prompt: "we live in the same apartment complex and I accidentally leave my laundry in the washer for a minute too long and you decide to take out all my wet clothes to put in yours just as I walk in" AU**

Iris was just finishing up a short article about the mysterious streak that was going around Central City, saving lives, when her eyes wandered to the clock on her desktop. _**Oh shit**__._

The load of laundry she had put into the washing machine in the basement was supposed to be done _twelve_ minutes ago. Normally, that wouldn't be much of a deal, but the last _four_ times she had gone to the laundry room a little after her laundry had been done, she had found her (previously) clean clothes all over the dirty floor.

Hurriedly, Iris grabbed her keys and clothes basket and rushed down the three flights of stairs. She was just about to enter the laundry room, when she heard the suspicious sound of someone emptying the washer – and, yes, as she walked through the door, Iris could see someone taking her damp clothes out of the machine.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Iris hissed threateningly, scowling at the wrongdoer.

The guy swivelled around so fast, that Iris nearly became dizzy just from looking at him; he stared at her in his probably best deer-caught-in-the-headlights-expression, tightly grabbing the purple blouse he'd just taken out.

"Ehm, I-I... I was just..," he stammered, eyes flickering frantically from Iris to the blouse in his hands. A giant blush made its way unto his face, even covering his neck and ears.

He was still fumbling with words and Iris couldn't help but notice that the young man in front of her was also kind of _**cute**_. He was really tall, but gangly, with light brown hair and blue-greenish eyes that were framed by ridiculously long eyelashes. She let out a shaky laugh. _**Just my kinda luck**__, _she thought,_** the guy that's making my life hell is, of course, super-adorable**__._

Then her eyes came to rest upon his laundry basket and a dreadful feeling was spreading from the pit of her stomach... Inside the basket was a pile of rumpled red shirts and sweaters, cramped into one corner of the clothes basket and on the other side... was her pile of clothes.

"Oh," was all Iris could muster to say, her cheeks burning.

"Ehm... I guess these would be yours?" The brunette guy asked Iris tentatively, finally having found his voice, now that her anger had subsided.

"Yes." She whispered sheepishly, gnawing on her lower lip.

He cleared his throat nervously, then went on: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, I just – I went downstairs to get a load done and – well – this machine was the only one ready and I thought I could get out the laundry – that belongs to you, apparently – and put it into my basket for the time being and... I mean, I wasn't sure when you would get here and... I'm so sorry, I should have waited." He anxiously rubbed his neck with his free hand, still holding her blouse in the other.

His spluttered – but seemingly heartfelt – apology made Iris feel even more guilty about barking at him.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you," she flashed him a nervous smile and he appeared to be loosening up immediately, "it's just – the last couple of times I got down here too late, somebody had dumped my clothes on the floor and I had to re-wash them again... And when I saw you there, I thought I had finally caught the culprit red-handed..."

At her words, they both glanced at his clothes in the laundry basket and grinned at one another.

"I assure you that I would never do something like that – I know a thing or two about being late – I mean, I totally understand someone losing track of time," he rambled, again rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, stuff like that can happen," Iris agreed, already feeling a certain kind of fondness for the man before her. _**Whose name I don't even know**__ –_ Iris realized, astonished by the familiarity she already felt between this random stranger and her.

"I'm Iris, by the way," she added, extending her hand, suddenly feeling stupid for not introducing herself sooner," Iris West."

The guy's expressive eyes widened comically, he looked at her like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "**You** are Iris West?"

She threw him a startled look, _**from where should we know each other**_?!

"Ehm, I mean..." He got fidgety once again, "you are the one who is writing this blog, right? About, ehm...'The Streak'?" His voice nearly cracked at the last word.

"Oh, yeah." Iris nodded, surprised. She never would have thought that she would actually meet someone who was reading her blog about impossible events (that recently almost always invovled a mysterious red blur).

The young man kept on staring at her, completely perplexed.

Iris still stood there with her hand extended, feeling like an idiot.

"And you are-?" She asked, trying to break him out of his stupor.

"Oh... I'm Barry. Allen." He blurted out, finally shaking her hand.

_**Barry Allen. Of course would this cute guy have an equally cute name**_, Iris mused, smirking at him.

"So... Barry Allen," she teased, "you are one of the few people intrigued by the impossible?"

He blushed again, nodding.

_**He looks utterly adorable**_, Iris found. But then her eyes flitted to the clock hanging on the wall, informing her that it was time to get ready for leaving if she wanted to hang up her laundry and get to her Dad's house on time. Every Tuesday she would come over to have dinner with her father.

"How about you and I have coffee some time? Talk a bit more? I mean, only if you want to," she added hastily, after seeing the puzzled look on Barry's face.

"I just have to get going if I don't want to be late for another thing," she explained, hurriedly putting her clothes into her own basket now.

"I would like that." Barry smiled at her, making her stomach flutter.

"Great. That's... great." She beamed up at him, making no attempts to go.

They just stood and smiled at each other.

Suddenly realizing how ridiculous they must look, the two young adults started blushing simultaneously, laughter of embarrassement echoing from the naked walls of the laundry room.

"I... I should go now," Iris muttered, heading for the door.

"Oh, Iris, wait!" Barry shouted after her, making her turn around.

"Yeah?" She looked at him expectantly.

"You... ehm...that's yours." Barry lifted the blouse he was still holding, chuckling nervously.

"Oh... yeah," Iris took a few steps in Barry's direction, so he could put the purple piece of clothing into her basket, "thanks."

She made her way back to the door.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Barry's voice sounded from behind her, his face so over-eager and hopeful, that Iris could barely hold back a giggle when she glanced at him. _**A giggle? Oh, you've got it bad, girl**_.

"Yeah, sure," her smile widened at his apparent joy over her acceptance, "4 o'clock at Jitters sounds okay?"

He nodded fervently: "Great."

"See you tomorrow, Barry Allen!"

And with that, Iris hurried upstairs, leaving the young man alone in the basement. He could barely believe that he was _actually_ going to go on a coffee date with his absolutely amazing housemate... who also happened to blog about the heroics of his alter-ego... _Oh boy_...

**Fin.**

* * *

**So... I've been struggling with some other ff-ideas I have for The Flash and therefore, looked for some inspiration from tumblr... And stumbled upon this prompt ^^ I hope you enjoy it either way :)  
**


	4. Park at Night AU

**"we both like walking in the park at night and I think you're a stalker so I accidentally attack you and give you a black eye sorry" AU**

"You're sure you want to walk about the park on your own?" Linda asked for the umpteenth time.

Iris just rolled her eyes. "I've told you, Linda, I actually do enjoy wandering about the park at night, I do it all the time. Besides, this is the shortest way to my apartment, so relax," she assured her co-worker and friend. Linda and Iris were on their way home from their infamous girls night out and apparently, despite Iris's numerous affirmations that she would be fine walking the park alone, Linda still seemed reluctant to let her go.

Iris was getting impatient now: "Look, I've walked around the park many nights and I've never, ever saw anyone there. Ever... But if it makes you happy, you can call me when _**you**_ get home safely and check up on me, okay?" Iris conceded, just wanting to get home and finally take off her shoes that were slowly, but surely, killing her feet.

"Fine," Linda sighed in agreement, bidding Iris good-bye and reminding her friend that she would call her soon.

Rolling her eyes, Iris waved to Linda and entered the park. It was a surprisingly mild night for spring-time, the warmth of the recent sunny days still lingering, even though it was way past midnight.

Iris leisurely followed the path before her, appreciating the silence of the night after hours of being blasted with loud music. She made a small detour to her favorite place in the park: the pond. It wasn't anything particularly special, but Iris loved watching the reflection of the moon in the waters, only disturbed by soft ripples caused by the occasional breeze.

She sat down on a nearby bench to enjoy the view. After a couple of minutes, Iris dug out her cellphone from her purse to check how much time she had left before she was to receive Linda's call. As she had dawdled quite a lot, she would actually have to hurry if she wanted to be home on time. Iris quickly shoved her phone back into her purse and hastily got up from the bench, barely registering the rustle coming from the bushes behind her.

She returned to the path that was the shortest way to her apartment, making a mental note to never wear these shoes from hell again, when she suddenly heard steps following her. Iris couldn't help but feel apprehension bubbling up inside her – "_**I've never, ever seen anyone there. Ever**_"_**?!**_ That's what she gets for talking so big...

She picked up the pace a bit and tried to sneak an inconspicuous peak over her shoulder. Her "shadow" appeared to be a tall, lean figure, most likely male, who was also quickening his pace.

'_**Great, I'm running around a park at night, chased by some kind of slender man,**_' Iris thought bitterly, her heart hammering against her ribcage. In her mind, she was going over everything she ever learned in the self-defense lessons her dad had given her, especially as she could hear the person slowly gaining on her. How was shouting gonna help her, though? The entire park was completely deserted around this time of the day... Iris decided to skip the first step of self-defense, instead reaching for her cell, hoping that this would maybe scare off her persecutor; but as she was reaching for her phone she realized that it must have fallen out of her purse – damn, she had planned on fixing that stupid clasp for a while now... The steps were getting closer...' _**Just keep the moves in mind that daddy taught you and you will be fine**_' she tried to calm herself down, mentally preparing for what was to come... A hand landed on her left shoulder.

"**HeeeEEY – OOWW!**"

Iris had already turned to the outside, looped her arm over her stalker's arm to lock it up and jabbed the guy in the face.

"Oww, oh I'm sorry, so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you – oh my gosh, ow, I'm really, really sorry!" Iris's 'attacker' rambled frantically, holding his face with his left hand.

Iris gaped at the man in front of her, who was still spluttering apologies; He was still very young, maybe around her age, lanky, had brown hair (as far as Iris could make that out in the dim light) and was doubled over in pain, clutching his left eye.

She knew that her first instinct should be running away, but instead she stood completely still, frozen, until it dawned on her that he hadn't had any intention of hurting her.

"Are you – are you okay?" Iris asked tentatively, unsure what she should do.

The strange man straightened up – he was _really_ tall – and gave Iris a shaky smile (from what she could see of his face, he actually looked quite handsome, Iris observed). "I'm fine. I guess I had it coming... – Nice cross, by the way," he complimented her with a strained voice, apparently trying to suppress a groan.

At first, Iris wanted to apologize, but what exactly had she to apologize for? He was right, he'd had it coming, creeping around in the middle of the night... So, she settled for an innocuous "thanks".

"Ehm.. anyway, I just wanted to give you this... I think you lost it at the pond..." He fumbled for something in the pocket of his cardigan and there it was – Iris's cellphone.

"Oh." Iris stared at him wide-eyed, suddenly feeling guilty for punching him so hard.

Just as he was about to hand the phone over to her, it started ringing, causing him to flinch and the cellphone to drop unceremoniously into Iris's hand. The display showed that it was Linda.

"I have got to take this, but don't run away, okay?" Iris instructed and the young man nodded dutifully, bearing a striking resemblance to a puppy. A soft smile stole its way unto Iris's lips.

"Hi," she answered the phone. "Umm, no, I'm not home yet, but don't worry... I just ran into someone and got a little held up..." She smirked at he man next to her and he blushed a little at her choice of words. "What? I really don't think that this will be necessary..." Iris objected, but Linda wouldn't yield... To top it off, the stranger standing next to her had finally moved his hand from his face to the back of his neck to rub it nervously. He exposed a slightly swollen eye that surely would turn into a beautiful shiner, especially if he wasn't going to put some ice on it soon.

"Fine," Iris sighed, seeing no use in fighting about this point with Linda, "I'll hand you over to...?" She send a questioning look to the guy next to her, who was so taken aback by being included into this conversation that at first, he didn't understand that Iris wanted to know his name.

At last, he forced out a raspy "Barry... Allen."

Iris nodded, "I'll hand you over to Barry." She gave him the cellphone.

"Hello?" He answered it cautiously, looking utterly afraid. His eyes widened in a comical manner, another, much more vibrant blush, making its way unto his face. "Mhm... yes... of course, yeah... yes ma'am," he stuttered, glowing bright red. He handed the phone over to Iris, hand slightly shaking. Iris listened to the last couple of words Linda had to say, let out a tiny laugh and said good-bye.

"Sooo..." Iris began, fumbling with her cellphone, not wanting to put it back into her pocket, "you just wanted to get this back to me?"

Barry nodded sheepishly, shuffling his feet: "I do realize that just following you without saying a peep was a bad idea now, though..." – Iris let out another laugh – "I'm sorry, Iris," he added, carefully repeating the name her friend had said when she had been talking about the woman in front of him.

"It's okay," she reassured him, "I think you've learned your lesson."

The earnest look he gave her was enough to reaffirm her belief.

"Oh well, let's go," Iris suggested, motioning towards the park's exit, "Linda made you promise to take me home safely and I can assure you that you don't want to get on her bad side."

The mere thought of incuring Linda's wrath made Barry shudder, who was trotting alongside Iris loyally.

"And if you keep behaving like the good boy you are, I might give you some ice for your eye," Iris teased, earning herself a soft chuckle from the man beside her.

**Fin.**

* * *

**Soo... I hope you guys enjoy this little AU fic :) I have another chapter nearly ready and it will be more like the first two chapters again... I hope you will like that as well ^^  
Oh, and if anyone is interested in the self-defense move Iris used (I'm not sure if my description of it is visual enough) you can watch it here: www. ehow . c o m [slash] video_4970707 _ womens-selfdefense-escaping-grab-from. html [I added some spaces, just so you know]  
**


	5. Speed Reading

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chappie! As promised, this chapter is not an AU but could - hypothetically - take place in the universe of the show. Lately I've been reading Harry Potter again and both Barry and Iris strike me as potterheads, so I wanted to incorporate that - spoilers ahead for _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ as well as a mention of a book-related scene from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_! Enjoy!  
**

**Speed reading**

"Iris, would you please stop staring at me? You're distracting me," Barry groaned, shooting her an exasperated look.

"Fine... I promise I will stop staring at you," Iris giggled, squirming in Barry's desk chair, "as long as you promise to read a bit faster!"

Barry let out an exhausted sigh. "Honestly, I'm doing my best here," he tossed another stern glance at his best friend, who was now spinning in his chair restlessly, "considering the circumstances." Iris gave him a mischievous look in return: "I wouldn't annoy you so much if you just finished the book!"

Barry let out another sigh, silently admitting defeat. The only way to get out of this horrendous situation was to read the final page of the book in his hands: _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_.

Both Iris and him were huge fans of this book series (and the movies, for that matter) and had waited impatiently for the seventh book to be released. Of course they had pre-ordered it – two copies, as Joe had noted in disbelief (the detective did not understand the need of having the exact same book twice in the same household) – so they could read it simultanously and discuss it immediately after finishing. At first, their plan had worked out perfectly – as soon as the mailman had dropped off the books, the two teenagers had snatched one copy each and barricaded themselves in their rooms. Even though it was a Wednesday, they both had been able to easily clear their schedules – since they had graduated high school a couple of weeks prior and strictly instructed Joe to not disturb them at any time.

But while Barry indubitably was the bigger nerd of the two of them (and the cutest one she knew, as Iris insisted fervently), Iris definitely was the greater 'potterhead'. She had every little detail memorized (book- or movie-wise): names, spells, trivia about magical creatures could be accessed any time, everywhere. This conviction and passion unleashed an astounding ability of hers: speed reading. Iris did not simply read very fast, she devoured the book in a matter of hours.

This exceptional skill of hers was the reason why Barry was in this precarious situation in the first place. He was by no means a slow reader (on the contrary, since he was a rather avid one), but there was no way he could possibly match Iris's reading rate. Especially not when she was _this_ excited about a book.

When he was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Snape (_**Snape!**_) had been on the side of the good guys the whole time (much less been in love with Harry's mom since he was a child) and Harry having a horcrux inside of him (which meant that he had to sacrifice himself, die – _**what kind of book for kids**__ –__** or young adults**__ – __**lets the protagonist die, anyway? These books are named after him**_**!**), a short, energetic knock on his door was the only advance warning Barry got before Iris practically stormed into his room, eyes wide with excitement. She closed the door hurriedly and spun around to face him, ready to review every single detail – and froze when she saw the amount of remaining pages he still had to read through.

"You've got to be kidding me," – Barry squirmed nervously, suddenly feeling guilty though he hadn't done anything besides reading for the past 5 hours – "I even went downstairs for coffee to give you some more time!" Iris threw her hands up in outrage, shaking her head.

"Ehm... sorry?" Barry gave her a sheepish smile, untangling his legs from his crosslegged position on the bed; too late – they were already numb.

"The only apology I will accept is for you to hurry up and read!" Iris shouted with urgency, motioning for Barry to pick up where he had left off.

He bowed his head in compliance, refocusing on the hero on his way to the Forbidden Forest, while Iris was pacing up and down. Barry's eyes were flittering across the page, when he suddenly felt Iris's warm breath on his neck. He went rigid and could feel a luscious blush spreading over his face. "What are you doing?" he gulped, eyes still transfixed on the book.

"I just wanted to see what chapter you're at," Iris said nonchalantly, her breath still tickling the nape of his neck. Then she went back to walking around in Barry's room, before settling into his chair: "The next chapter is gonna surpri-"

"Shhhh!" Barry hissed, recovering from the stupor Iris's closeness had put him in, "No spoilers!"

"Fine, I'm just going to sit here quietly, waiting for you to finish it," Iris conceded.

"Thank you." Barry nodded, returning his attention to the book. Again, his eyes flew over the page, eagerly taking in every single word – and again, his concentration was broken. Iris was tapping her foot against the table-leg of his desk in a frantic rhythm that made Barry wonder exactly _**how**__**many**_ coffees she must have had before coming to his room. She must have noticed him stopping reading and her tapping, because soon, Iris mumbled a quiet "sorry" and interlooped her legs in a manner that made it impossible for her to move them.

Barry continued reading, nearing the end of the chapter, still incredulous how J. K. Rowling could possibly allow Voldemort to kill off his childhood-hero... _**There are still a couple of pages left**_, he tried to put his mind at ease and braced himself for the next chapter – _**King's Cross? What has that to do with anything happening right now?!**_ \- that, according to Iris, was going to surprise him.

And she was absolutely right.

Barry could feel his jaw dropping – _**what the actual?!**_

"I **know**, right? This is completely freaky!" Iris chimed in, excitement evident in her voice.

"Iris, would you please stop staring at me? You're distracting me," Barry groaned, shooting her an exasperated look...

...

In the end, he had somehow made it through the book. Reading while Iris had to wait obviously wasn't the way to go, so Barry suggested that she should just reread it in parallel to him. Of course, he had thought that she would hurry back to her room to get her copy, but instead, Iris had gotten up from his chair just to plop down next to him on the bed, telling him to"make room" for her. After some jostling they finally settled for lying on their stomachs right next to each other, the book lying centric in front of them. Admittedly, Barry's concentration suffered a little with Iris being pressed so closely against his side so that she wouldn't fall off the bed, but he managed to get the gist of what was happening. Also, Iris's review later on contained every single detail she deemed necessary (which meant like, nearly everything) and anything he might accidentally had read over, was elaborated afterwards either way. Their animated conversation about the books was cut short (they had already been talking for over an hour) by Joe, who insisted they come downstairs for dinner. [Iris and Barry's protests weren't exactly coming across as convincing, not with their stomachs rumbling simultanously.]

* * *

After another stressful day of running around Central City, apprehending bad guys, Barry finally made his way home. He found Iris sprawled on the couch, nose buried in a worn-out copy of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_.

"Hey, I didn't know you were rereading the series again," he greeted his girlfriend, surprised that she hadn't told him; after all, it was kind of their tradition to read it together.

"Well, since you were so busy this week and only came home to collapse into bed and sleep until you had to head over to work, I had plenty of time to read a bit," Iris explained with a shrug.

Barry just nodded, pouting a little.

"But, " Iris said, eyes twinkling playfully, " if you hurry up and change, we can read the next chapter together; Harry and Cho are going to go to Madam Puddifoot's – it's going to be super" – _**whoosh**_ – "funny."

"Alright, make room," Barry grinned, now clad in casual clothes. It took them a couple of minutes until they found a position they were both comfortable with – they ended up with Iris nestled up against Barry's chest.

"Okay, you ready? I'm not going to wait forever for you to read the pages, so you better make use of your powers, Allen," Iris teased, fiddling with the ribbon of her bookmark that was marking the beginning of chapter 25.

"Well, at least now we're evenly matched, Miss West," Barry replied playfully, burying his nose in her hair.

Iris rolled her eyes. "You have speed reading, Bear."

"So do you." He replied earnestly, pecking her temple before urging Iris to open the book.

They cuddled up to each other and started reading.

**Fin.**

* * *

**According to wikipedia, _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ was released on the 11th July 2007 in the U.S. (I couldn't even remember when it had come out in my country, it's been too long ;) and I did a little math and came to the conclusion that this should have been the year when Barry and Iris graduated? Also, a quick google search told me that graduation in the U.S. usually takes place end of May/beginning of June so I just went with that... I hope that this is true and I didn't make any grave mistakes ^^;  
**

**Also, if you guys have some suggestions what I could write about next, I would be very grateful if you told me! Life is kinda busy right now and I'm stuck with the only idea I have momentarily, so any kind of impulse (ha!) would be appreaciated :)**


	6. Coffee AU

**Hi guys, thank you so much for the kind reviews, faves and story follows! :) Here is another AU prompt I hope you'll enjoy!**

"**I have a paper due tomorrow and it's three am, I need all your coffee cause I ran out" college au **

_**Knock knock**_ Barry casted an unbelieving look at his front door, tooth brush still in mouth. Who on earth would still knock at 3 a.m.?! He certainly must have imagined it. _**Knock knock knock**_ or not. He scuffled towards the door, the knocking intensifying. Barry warily opened the door, half expecting someone to throw a cake into his face or something like that, after all, it wouldn't be the first time some of his fellow students came up with the idea to prank him... And stared at the most gorgeous girl he's ever seen.

"Hi, I need your coffee." She declared matter-of-factly, impatiently rocking on the balls of her feet.

"Huh?" Was the most intelligible sound Barry could produce, utter confusion displayed on his face.

"Look," she sighed heavily, "I have this paper due tomorrow and I really, really need to finish it or I'm in huge trouble... But, to finish it, I really, really, REALLY need some coffee – and I drank all of mine so... – Could you lend me some? And with some, I mean all of it – or at least everything you can spare... I really need it." She gave him the most adorable puppy dog pout he'd ever seen (but was it just the dim lighting or were her pupils a bit _very much_ dilated?). Anyway, he couldn't turn her down (also, she seemed quite desperate and determined and he certainly wouldn't be the one to put himself between a woman and apparent life-saving coffee), so he stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. She zipped right past him towards the tiny kitchenette, an eager look on her face.

Barry dumbfoundedly realized that he still had the toothbrush (and -paste) in his mouth and headed for the sink to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth. His nightly guest stood there with folded arms, eyes fixated on his cupboard as if she could summon the tin of coffee by a simple stare. Considering the intensity of her glance, Barry wasn't too sure that she couldn't.

"Ehm, so," he stuttered nervously, rubbing his neck with his free hand, while opening the cupboard with the other, "you are Iris, right? From the other end of the corridor?"

She finally tore her gaze off the cupboard and blinked several times like awakening from some kind of stupor. "Oh, yeah... I, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" She blushed a little, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Sorry for that. I just don't function very well without my caffeine and when no one down the hallway had opened their door – wait, did I just knock at everyone's door in the middle of the night? – whatever, I was very desperate. It's an important paper," she added sheepishly, a small smile making its way unto her face.

"I can understand that. I'm known for being perpetually late," Barry grinned, handing over his coffee can to Iris.

"Yeah, I know," she laughed, clutching the can like it was a lifesaver.

Barry couldn't help but blush a little. "Ehm... you can have all of it – I'm just gonna grab some coffee from Jitters tomorrow instead."

Iris gave him a wide-eyed look, like he just sacrificed a leg for her. He felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"But please promise me to drink a lot of water with that. We wouldn't want you to dehydrate from over-caffeination, okay?" He urged, genuinely caring.

Iris nodded vigoriously, then, suddenly, wrapped her arms around his middle in a quick, but nearly bone-breaking hug and – with a muttered "thanks, I owe you one" – hurriedly left Barry's place.

Barry still stood in the kitchen, completely flabbergasted.

* * *

The next day, around 4 p.m., just shortly after he had returned from his biochemistry lecture, Barry heard it again – _**knock knock**_. This time, the knocking was more tentative than last night. Barry opened the door and once again, Iris stood there, smiling up at him. She appeared much calmer than yesterday (and even more beautiful – however this was possible), hands behind her back.

"Hi," she said bashfully, chewing on her lower lip.

„Hey."

„Sooo... Ehm... I wanted to apologize for the stunt I pulled last night – I mean, it wasn't really me, that was more like a zombie-version of me..." she let out a nervous laugh. "But I wanted to thank you for the coffee – I never would have finished my paper without it. And," she produced a brand-new coffee can from behind her back, "I've brought you something to refill your coffee stock."

Barry accepted her gift with a wide smile, "you really didn't have to-"

"Yes, I had to," Iris insisted. "Without you, I wouldn't have had enough java to last until my deadline, suffer through another lecture and finally enjoy the beauty that is six-hours of sleep... - I just woke up from coffee-coma," Iris explained when she saw his confusion.

"Zombie-Iris wasn't that bad, don't worry," Barry reassured her, grinning.

"Okay, good." She beamed at him, relieved.

For a minute, they just stood there, smiling at each other.

Then, Iris eyed Barry with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Actually... I was just on my way to Jitters for _one_ cup of coffee and something to eat," she said carefully, "and I was wondering if you... would like to join me?

– Only if you want to," she added hastily, after seeing Barry's eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh no – I mean, yes, yeah, I would like that," he babbled excitedly, blushing.

Iris gave him another of her breathtaking smiles: "Great."

"Let me just - " Barry gestured to the coffee can still in his hand, hurrying inside to put it down and grab his jacket.

"Alright, let's go," he spluttered enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear.

Iris couldn't help but giggle at his overeagerness.

They were walking comfortably alongside one another, when Barry uttered: "Did you know that zombies exist in nature?"

**Fin.**

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter. **

**If anyone has any suggestions what I should write about next, feel free to leave me a message (I can't promise anything but I will certainly try! ;)  
**


	7. Supermarket AU

**Hi, I'm back! Thank you guys so much for reading, reviewing and favoring this story! You guys are great! Special thanks to ****IShipIt87 who sent me a story idea (I promise I'll give it a try pretty soon!). This week was really busy and I had to piece this chapter together one by one - but I just couldn't resist this prompt ^^ I hope you'll enjoy it!**

**"I lost my little brother [nephew] at the grocery store and you found him and now it seems like you two are best friends and he doesn't wanna lose contact with you so it seems like i'll have to get your number - at least your hella cute" au**

It was Friday in Central City, late afternoon. The supermarket was brimmed with people, bustling through the aisles, shoving full shopping carts in front of them.

"Aww man, do we really have to, Aunt Iris?" A gap-toothed 8-year-old boy, wearing a baseball hat from the CC Museum of Science, whined, sending a pleading look towards a beautiful young woman who let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, Wally, we have to. I'm really sorry but there are still a couple of things we're gonna need for dinner with your grandpa," she tried to appease her nephew, "I made a list with everything we still need. We shouldn't take too long, I promise."

The boy grimaced upon hearing that reply, shoulders slumping, but compliantly trudging behind his aunt nontheless.

"Come on, it won't be **that **bad," Iris reassured him, digging the grocery list out of her handbag while pushing the shopping cart forward, "we will be out of here sooner than you think."

"Mh-hm," Wally grunted miserably, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Suddenly, his face lit up: "Y'know, I bet the Flash can do grocery shopping in a matter of seconds! That would be so practical, don't you think?"

Iris couldn't help but grin at Wally's sudden enthusiasm as he talked about his idol, Central City's newfound hero.

"Yeah, I guess that would be practical. Though I doubt that his super speed would be of any help when he has to wait in line to pay for his groceries," she winked at her nephew, then continued to inspect the peppers.

30 minutes later, Iris desperately wished that she could have the Flash's superpower. Thanks to the sheer masses of people, finding everything took twice as long as usual.

"I think we earned ourselves some ice cream," she declared decidedly, while double-checking if all of the needed groceries were in the cart. "How about you choose a flavor?"

No response.

"Wally?" Iris looked up from the grocery list, a feeling of dread emerging. She glanced around anxiously but no sight of the 8-year-old boy. Iris felt herself break out into sweat:

"Wally?!"

* * *

While Iris was fretting about the absence of her nephew, the boy in question was engrossed in the magazines near the exit of the supermarket. He had spotted them at an parallel aisle while following his aunt and was immediately drawn to them, completely forgetting about Iris's instruction not to leave her side at any time. Blending out his surroundings, Wally ventured off to the shelf and took in the enormous collection, eyes wide with awe. His glance came to linger on the science magazines. The 8-year-old grabbed the closest one in reach and leafed through it, enraptured. After browsing a couple more magazines, Wally began wondering if he could somehow persuade Iris to maybe buy him one... and came to the sudden realization that he had no clue where his aunt exactly was. Wally only now became aware of how packed the supermarket actually was, his eyes wandering about anxiously, a feeling of panic slowly creeping in.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you lost?" A concerned voice broke Wally out of his terror. The boy looked up, a young man around Aunt Iris's age eyed him worriedly.

"I... I lost my aunt," Wally stammered helplessly, tears forming in his eyes.

A look of sympathy dawned on the man's face. "Hey, don't worry, you'll find your aunt... I'll help you," he said in a soothing voice, trying to calm down the boy in front of him. "I think it will be for the best for us to just stay here. We are close to the checkout counters and the exit, so your aunt is bound to come by here. You'll both find each other in no time!" The man smiled at Wally encouragingly, before he realized that he had never properly introduced himself to the kid: "Oh, and I'm Barry, by the way."

"I'm Wally," the boy replied, flashing a small, tooth-gaped smile towards Barry, clutching the magazine he most recently flipped through closer to his chest.

Barry's green eyes flickered to the magazine, then to the baseball cap on Wally's head, a smile forming on his lips as he found the perfect way to distract the kid from his despair: "So, Wally, you like science?..."

* * *

In the meantime, Iris was running around the supermarket frantically, asking everyone who crossed her path if they had seen her 8-year-old nephew... But no one answered affirmatively (if they answered at all – people were particularly grumpy as they were rushing through the store). After another curt, unhelpful response, Iris came to a halt, people shoving past her. Distraught, she made the decision to head for the exit, to maybe ask one of the cashiers to call out for Wally... A nervous wreck, Iris forcefully pushed the cart ahead until she caught a glimpse of a familiar looking baseball cap -

"Wally?!"

The boy's face brightened instantaneously at the familiar voice, eyes searching for hers immediately.

"Aunt Iris!" He cried, running into his aunt's arms, hugging her tightly.

"I have been worried sick about you!" Iris muttered into the kid's t-shirt, returning the embrace equally strongly.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted and then I lost you," Wally apologized meekly, eyes glued to the floor and shoulders slumped in shame.

"Well, luckily we found each other again," Iris soothed her nephew, whose guilty conscience was weighing on him, "But promise me to never, ever do that again. I'm too young to suffer from a heart attack, okay?"

Wally gave her a faint smile, nodding eagerly. He nervously rolled a battered issue of a science magazine in his hands. "It was Barry's idea to wait here at the exit for you; he said that you would just have to come by!" The boy exclaimed, pointing towards a tall man just a few feet away from them.

Iris examined said '**Barry**' closely; he appeared to be around her age, was tall and lanky, had brunette hair and pretty green eyes and was currently blushing under her glance – he was actually pretty damn cute.

"Barry Allen," he stammered nervously, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Iris West," Iris introduced herself, smiling brightly while shaking his hand, happy to have found her nephew again, "thank you for keeping an eye on Wally."

"It was nothing, really," he smiled back, a dazed look on his face.

"Guess what! Barry works at the CCPD!" Wally chimed in excitedly, "He's a police scientist!"

"Oh, really?" Iris asked surprised, nose scrunched up in thought. Then her face lit up in recognition: "Ooh, you are that CSI who is always late, right?"

Barry flushed bright red at that comment, a puzzled look on his face.

"My dad is Detective West," Iris explained, amused by his reaction.

"Oh," the CSI spluttered, dumbfounded, face still glowing crimson.

"Barry said that he could show me around his lab sometime!" Wally threw in, eyes shining with exhilaration.

"If your aunt is okay with that," the young man added, smiling nervously.

Iris grinned appreciatively: "Well, we have two more weeks to kill before school vacation is over and I'm certain Wally would enjoy it tremendously, so... as long as you're up to it, sure," her grin widened as Wally beamed at her, obviously happy with her response.

"Let's exchange phone numbers so we can arrange a date!" Iris proposed. "For the lab tour, I mean," she clarified with a chuckle when she saw the baffled expression on Barry's face.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he stuttered – _**was it just her or was he looking kind of disheartened?**_ – fumbling for his cellphone.

They quickly swapped their cell numbers and – after Iris assured Wally that she would buy him the already-crumpled magazine – said their good-byes (not before Iris casted a disbelieving look at Barry's incredibly full shopping cart – _**how could he be **_**that**_** gangly and eat like a horde of 5-year-olds**_?!).

Barry had just managed to carry all of his grocery bags home safely (a rather impressive feat considering the amount of food he had bought) and was just putting milk, cheese and the like in his refrigerator, when he received a text message. He froze when he read who had sent it. The text was from Iris:

"**Hey Barry! I definitely wouldn't mind arranging another not-lab-related date... if you're up to it ;) Iris"**

Barry was literally buzzing with excitement while hastily typing his response.

* * *

When Iris sat down in front of her laptop to check for new Flash sightings for her blog the next day, her in-box was filled with a lot of messages. The Flash had apparently been busy dealing out little pleasantries, everything from retrieving your typical cat in the tree or other lost pets to their rightful owner to painting fences or house walls. Several eye witnesses (or rather ear witnesses, considering that Central City's personal superhero moved so fast that most people could barely see him) had reported that the usual '_whoosh_' sound that was associated with the Scarlet Speedster had also been accompanied by cheerful whistling.

"Seems like I wasn't the only one who was having a great day yesterday," Iris thought smiling, already looking forward to the lab tour she would go along with Wally tomorrow (not to mention the date she was going to go on with the adorable nerdy Barry the day after).

**Fin.**

* * *

**So, I hope you liked it :) I hope I did little!Wally justice (I only know him from the Young Justice Series and JLA cartoon and a couple appearances in Nightwing comics and the like, so I don't really know him as a cute little kid - but he was described to having his head in the clouds as a child, right?).**

**As always, reviews are very much appreaciated and potential story ideas are always welcome ;)**


	8. The Lab Tour

**Hi there again! I'm back so much sooner than I expected and the reason for that... are you guys! :D Your incredible awesome reviews unleashed some mysterious power in me because yesterday - instead of doing homework for my 'psychology of emotion'-class (oops) - I wrote on a continuation of the supermarket AU for nearly 5 hours straight! O.O You have created a monster... Nah, you are all super-awesome ;) Anyway, I just hope you guys will enjoy this as much as the last one!**

**Supermarket AU, Part 2 – The Lab Tour**

Iris's excitement for the lab tour was only exceeded by Wally's. The little boy was so pumped by the prospect of seeing a real lab up close, that he could barely stay still for more than five minutes. When Wally had been telling his grandpa about Iris's and his experience at the supermarket and Barry's proposal to show them around, he nearly fell off his chair because he was wiggling so much. Even after another meaningful glance from Grandpa Joe (who always had this aura of authority about him, even though he was usually just the most fun grandfather ever – but that probably came along with being a detective), Wally couldn't help but squirm every now and then. Joe acknowledged Wally's effort to at least try to sit still, though, and didn't dwell on the boy's figetiness.

"You'll probably learn quite a lot on your tour," the detective said, helping himself to another portion of noodle casserole, "Barry Allen might be perpetually late, but he is the best forensic assistant we've ever had..." – Iris couldn't help but feel really happy that her Dad spoke so highly of the sweet, kind-hearted CSI – "it's been a real relief that he had been able to reintegrate into the police force so easily. Not many people recover that well from being struck by lightning and a nine-month coma .."

"What?!" Iris and Wally gasped in unison, Wally's eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"I told you about it," Joe replied confused, looking at his daughter, "the night that the particle accelerator exploded..."

Something stirred in the back of Iris's mind: "Oh... I think you talked about the "Allen-kid"... I guess I just didn't make the connection.." Iris mumbled, still incredulous.

Joe shrugged: "He was struck in the crime lab... I don't know much about the time he spent in a coma... I think he had been transferred to S.T.A.R. Labs for some reason... Then, nine months later, he came back, as if nothing happened. Since then, he's been as eager and tardy as always. Maybe a bit more unpunctual than before."

"Woow", Wally whispered, frozen with awe.

After dinner, Wally hovered over Iris until she agreed to text Barry about a date for the lab tour. She actually had sent the CSI a message before dinner (not that she necessarily wanted her nephew to know what it had been about), but both Iris and Barry had forgotten to fix a day for their _other_ date at the precinct.

He replied pretty quickly, asking if the day after tomorrow sounded good (yes, it did). When she told Wally, the 8-year-old bounced with anticipation, grabbing the science magazine Iris had bought and ran off to the guest room to read it for the umpteenth time, this time furiously writing down questions he could ask. Iris later found Wally passed out on the bed, surrounded by many sheets of paper.

"Barry has no idea what he's gotten himself into," Iris thought amusedly while turning off the bedside lamp.

* * *

The day of the lab tour finally arrived (not just finally because Iris couldn't wait to meet Barry Allen again, but also because she'd had her hands full with an exuberant Wally). Since it was a Sunday, the precinct was relatively empty – though of course neither crime nor law sleeps at any time. Because they had arrived a bit too early (and Barry was yet nowhere to be seen), Iris chatted with some officers and detectives she knew and Wally examined the police station with wide eyes. It was exactly 3 p.m. - the arranged time for their tour – and still, there was no green-eyed forensic scientist (not that Iris was too surprised; after everything she had heard from her dad, she had expected that). Instead, her father's new partner – Eddie Thawne – came over, obviously surprised to see her here.

"Hey Iris; your father is not here, in case you're looking for him," Detective Pretty Boy (as Iris had dubbed him) greeted her awkwardly, apparently still uncomfortable around her (last time they had seen each other, Eddie had asked her out on a date, but Iris had told him that she wasn't interested).

"**We**" – Iris pulled Wally closer to her, as he had started to wander off again, "are not looking for my dad, - "

"We're gonna get a tour around the lab!" Wally bursted out excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Exactly," Iris smiled, infected by the boy's exhilaration. "This is my nephew, Wally," she explained to the blonde police man, "Wally, this is Eddie. He is also a detective; he and grandpa work together."

"Hi," Wally politely shook hands with the detective, before letting his eyes wander about the room again.

"Lab tour?" Eddie asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, " Iris replied, "Wally loves science and we were both invited by -"

"Barry!" The 8-year-old exclaimed, waving excitedly to the CSI that was sheepishly making his way towards them.

"Hey Wally, Iris!" he blushed faintly while saying her name. "Eddie." He nodded towards the detective in greeting who nodded back, eyes darting back and forth between Iris and Barry.

Both Wests greeted the scientist equally excitedly.

"Sorry, I'm late," Barry apologized hastily, while Eddie was returning back to his desk after a short good-bye, "I... had an appointment with my... physician at S.T.A.R. Labs." He nodded a bit while saying the sentence, like he was particularly satisfied with the way he phrased his excuse. _**Odd.**_

"Because you got hit by lightning?" Wally asked eagerly, still completely at awe that the man who was leading Iris and him upstairs to his lab, had experienced such a thing.

"Something like that," Barry replied vaguely, before noticing Iris's suspicious look, "Caitlin – Dr. Snow, that is – is very thorough with her check-ups," he specified, again looking like he was carefully choosing his words.

Before Iris could go into the matter (because her gut feeling was telling her that there was something fishy going on here), they arrived at the crime laboratory and Wally was close to freaking out.

"So... how about I show you guys around and explain some of the equipment? What do you say, Wally?" Barry suggested grinning, while Wally was just nodding enthusiastically, obviously delighted.

"Alright, let's start with the centrifuge..."

* * *

'Some of the equipment' hadn't been entirely true – due to Wally's rapture, Barry ended up explaining every single device in his lab. The 8-year-old soaked all of the information up like a sponge, every now and then surprising Iris and Barry with an exceptionally well thought out question. Although Iris had primary come along to accompany Wally (and see the adorable forensic assistant again), she found herself being really intrigued by Barry's explanations – maybe because he was so enthusiastic about it.

After that, Wally dug the sheets of paper Iris had seen him write out of his backpack and read Barry his questions, who patiently answered every one of them (or at least promised to research the ones he couldn't immediately answer, writing them down so he wouldn't forget them).

"Then we have to meet up again some other time!" Wally noted happily, stuffing his papers back into his rucksack.

"It would appear so," Barry replied, smiling. "Maybe we can even run one or two experiments then." Wally actually started bouncing up and down when he heard this proposition, making Iris and Barry laugh.

"This is the best!" The kid cheered, still beaming. "I mean, the only thing better than that would be meeting the Flash... so it's more like a second-best thing...then again, meeting the Flash is not very likely, at least not when you're not in danger..." Wally babbled on, not noticing how Barry nearly missed a step while they were heading downstairs again. Iris, however, did, knitting her eyebrows. _**Weird**_.

Before Iris and Wally could head back home, Wally needed to go to the restroom and, after receiving the necessary directions to find it, left the two young adults alone.

"A very interesting tour, Mr. Allen" Iris teased, smiling.

"Why, thank you Miss West," Barry shot back playfully.

Then he turned a bit more serious and even more nervous: "Soo... About tomorrow..." He shuffled his feet anxiously, rubbing his neck with one hand.

"Yeah?" Iris couldn't help but get infected by Barry's restlessness.

"Ehm... I was wondering... if you liked Italian?" The CSI sent her an cautious look.

"Yes, I definitely like Italian," she let out a liberating laugh.

Barry just looked relieved. "Great. I made a reservation at _Tony's_, I hope you don't mind that?"

"Nope, not at all. I love the food at _Tony's_," she reassured him, still incredulous how he could have been **that** worried simply over the choice of food and restaurant.

"Great," he repeated, fiddling with his fingers, "is 8 okay?"

"Sure, sounds great," Iris smiled appeasingly, "how about we meet at the restaurant?" She suggested, guessing that Barry probably wouldn't be too eager to run into her dad on their first date.

The relief on his face proved her suspicions right, "great."

"But you better not be too late," she winked, watching the tips of his ears turning pink.

Before Barry could reply, Wally returned from the men's room, unaware of what the two had been discussing.

"So... I hope you had fun, Wally," Barry said, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Wally beamed, "thanks." And with that, the boy lunged forward, giving Barry a quick hug.

Iris chuckled at Barry's baffled reaction: "Beware! He'll start another fan club before you know it!"

"Aunt Iris!" Wally whined, while his aunt was ruffling his hair affectionately, mumbling something about her not being allowed to join his Flash fan club if she kept teasing him.

Barry just grinned, replying that he could live with that.

* * *

**Sooo... To be honest, I've already started plotting the next chapter for the next time I can write without interruption ^^; I'm thinking about turning this one into a full-fledged story... but I'm lacking a cool title (obviously, I really suck at coming up with titles), so in case you guys have an idea - feel free to help me out ;) (I'm really, really bad at it)  
**


	9. The Date

**Hi! Thank you guys soo much for your lovely reviews! You are awesome! Thanks to your title suggestions (special thanks to Jero1331 whose suggestion had a big influence on the final title) I figured out a title for this story and started a new story where I'll post all chapters concerning this fic from now on! It's called "_Loveable Nerds and Superheroes_", so keep your eyes peeled for it! ;)**

**Also, beware! I kinda spoil "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" by Dr. Seuss here... And again, mentions of Harry Potter, I just can't help myself...**

**But, now unto the chapter! Enjoy!**

**The Date**

This was it. Today was the day of Iris West's date with Barry Allen.

Iris had been extra nervous throughout the entire day, getting on Mason's nerves (though that didn't mean much – her mentor at the newspaper got unnerved easily). The worst thing was that beside the normal (maybe a little over the top) excitement that came along with a first date, Iris also had to do everything in her power not to sit down and research about Barry.

She was completely aware of how weird that urge was, but something about Barry's strange reactions yesterday had triggered something in her (Wally used to joke that her "journalism sense was tingling", whenever she went all-out with her investigations, trying to dig up as much information as she could). Despite the good time she and Wally had had during their lab tour, Iris couldn't help but feel that Barry was keeping something big from her – which was completely ridiculous of her, considering that they hadn't even been on a date that actually was supposed to serve the purpose of getting to know each other better, as her friend Tracy from Jitters had pointed out when Iris had talked to her in the morning while getting her coffee fix.

* * *

In the early evening, Iris's excitement hadn't lessened one bit. She was inspecting several potential date-dresses that she had spread on her bed, when a quick knock sounded on her bedroom door. Shortly after that it opened, her dad peeking into her room

"Hey Baby, Wally and I thought about ordering pizza – are you going somewhere?" The cop asked surprised, seeing the dresses.

"Yeah, I.. I have a date," Iris stated nervously," I guess I must've forgotten to tell you." Only that she hadn't – she rather had decided to omit this particular piece of information.

"Uh-huh," Joe hummed, obviously not believing her about the 'forgetting'-part.

Iris pretended not to notice, hanging two options back into her closet – two dresses were still lying on the bed. She also ignored the inquisitive glance her dad was bestowing on her and instead pondered whether she should choose the red backless dress or the short, light pink one with intricate embroidery on the bodice.

"You're not planning on telling me who your date is, are you?"

"Nope," Iris replied, finally deciding to go for the pink dress, putting the other one back into her wardrobe, "it's just a date, Dad. No need to make a big deal out of it." While saying these words out loud, Iris realized that actually _she_ was the one to make a big deal out of her date, being unusal secretive about it. She could tell by the look on her father's face that he'd had the exact same thought.

"Uh-huh." Before Joe could say much more, Wally dashed into the room, phone in hands.

"I thought we wanted to order in," the boy pointed out, suspiciously eyeing the dress draped over Iris's arm.

"Seems like your aunt is going on a date tonight." Her dad might have said that sentence in the most casual voice, but Iris could tell by the mischievious glint in his eyes that he meant it anything but casual.

"With who?" Wally immediately responded to it, using that tone of voice that meant he wouldn't stop pestering Iris with questions until he knew.

"With who**m**," Iris corrected him, hoping to distract the boy long enough to scurry into the bathroom across the hallway to change.

It didn't work. _**Go figure**_. He was a West, after all; no matter how distractable the 8-year-old might be, whenever Iris tried to sidetrack him purposely, it didn't work.

"Yeah, with whom?" Wally repeated, eyes glued on her.

Iris shot her father a stern look, who just observed the spectacle in front of him amusedly.

"Do we know him? What does he do? Is he also working at CCPN? Why haven't you told us about -"

"It's Barry, okay?" Iris blurted out under the barrage of questions. "I'm meeting Barry," she murmured a bit more quietly, slightly blushing.

Wally stared at his aunt saucer-eyed. "Was yesterday a date, too?" he asked, befuddled.

"No, of course not," Iris appeased her nephew who just looked utterly confused, "yesterday was just a lab tour. Barry and I just decided that we'd like to go out for dinner today, that's it."

The 8-year-old shook his head in disbelief. "This is soo weird," he announced, then waddled out of the room. Joe let out a short chuckle, then left Iris's room to order the pizza.

* * *

Iris arrived at the restaurant right on time; while she was debating whether she should wait outside (because, clearly, Barry wouldn't be here just yet) or already ask for their table, a breathy "hey" startled Iris out of her thoughts. She turned around and was taken aback to see a panting Barry Allen right behind her.

"Oh wow, you are punctual!" Iris couldn't help but blurt out, eyeing the light gray suit he was wearing – and came to the conclusion that he wore it very well.

"What's with the surprise?" Barry replied, pouting, "I know when a woman is worth being on time for." Right after the words tumbled out of his mouth, his eyes widened comically, face turning beet-red.

Iris felt her heart flutter at his words. "I bet you say that to all the girls," she teased while motioning towards the entrance of the restaurant, trying to put Barry at ease.

Being a real gentleman, he held the door open for Iris, muttering something under his breath. It sounded suspiciously much like "what other girls?", but in consideration of his current complexion and her fear that his head might burst into flames if he got any redder, Iris pretended not to have heard Barry's mumbling. Speaking of flames, as the waiter led both young adults to their table, Iris noticed a faint smell of smoke coming off Barry. Since she didn't peg the young scientist as a smoker (and he wasn't smelling of tobacco, but the real fire kind of smoke), – **and was that soot right below his left ear? **– Iris just asked him forthrightly about it as soon as they were seated.

"Oh." Barry rubbed the spot Iris had pointed at furiously, not meeting her eyes. "Ehm... there was a little accident... on the job, yeah," he spluttered, again with that strange look on his face that he'd sported yesterday while talking about his doctor's appointment, "nothing too serious, though."

"You better not conduct any possible explosive and/or flammable experiments with Wally, then," Iris said, half-joking, half-serious.

"Nah, don't worry; a friend of mine actually gave me the idea to experiment with sound waves and stuff," Barry placated her, thinking of Cisco's overeagerness when he had asked the engineer for some ideas that would look cool to show an 8-year-old (and were, appearently, not limited to that age group). "More along the lines of making glass shatter by using resonance or showing the qualities of oobleck by putting it on a subwoofer - "

"Quality of what?" Iris interjected, eyebrows furrowed, a weird sense a familiarity flashing up upon hearing that strange word.

"Oobleck. A mixture of cornstarch and water that is a non-Newtonian fluid – a dilatant fluid, to be precise – whose viscosity increases with increased physical pressure and – and I'm going full nerd on you, aren't I?" Barry stopped his ramblings, blushing.

Iris just grinned, finding his passionate babbling endearing: "No worries; at least, you're the cutest nerd that I know."

The beaming smile she got in return made Iris's stomach flutter, but hers wasn't the only one to react; Barry's stomach suddenly growled not-so-silently, making them both realize that they hadn't even ordered yet.

They both let out a nervous laugh, then started to study the menus.

All of sudden, Iris remembered from where she knew that strange word, causing her to erupt into giggles, which in turn earned herself a bewildered glance from Barry.

"Sorry," she chuckled, eyes twinkling with mirth, "I just realized that Wally's next visit to your lab is going to be a very special rendition of **'Bartholomew and the Oobleck'** – yes, I read Dr. Seuss as a child." Iris amusedly watched Barry bury his face into his hands – partly from exasperation, partly from embarrassment.

"Aww, chin up! Your namesake was really adorable running around the castle, trying to warn everyone about the oobleck and even standing up to the king himself and making him apologize for the predicament he'd gotten his kingdom in," Iris teased the CSI shamelessly until a waiter came to his rescue (and to take their orders).

* * *

Their date went incredibly well. Both Iris and Barry had a lot of fun, swapping stories like they'd known eachother forever, teasing one another playfully. After an insanely big amount of tiramisu – Iris had inisisted on and Barry had been all for it (he'd ended up eating most of it since Iris had completely overestimated her ability to eat much more after the biggest portion of _Tagliatelle al Salmone_ she ever had been served at _Tony's_ and she had the nagging feeling that it was due to Barry's presence that they got these unbelievable giant servings) – Barry inisisted on walking her home. They were comfortably walking alongside each other, enthusiastically chattering about the pro and cons of the Harry Potter movies vs. the books (and although both liked the movies quite a lot, the cinematic universe didn't fare too well in comparision to the books) when Iris became aware how ridiculously perfect the evening had been. She glanced at Barry babbling about what a pity it was that Molly, Arthur and Bill's appearance at Hogwarts as Harry's family instead of the Dursleys never made its way into the fourth movie, wearing Barry's suit jacket (he had offered her because it had become quite chilly this night) and thought that she could easily get used to this.

Ultimately, they arrived at the front door of the West residence, awkwardly standing on the porch, not really wanting to say good night just yet.

"Soo..." Barry stuttered, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I had a great time," Iris smiled, turning around so Barry could help her take off his jacket. "We should do it again sometime," she suggested, speaking over her shoulder, while the jacket was sliding off her shoulders.

"Definitely," Barry whispered, his breath on her neck sending shivers down Iris's spine. She spun around to face him, all of sudden becoming aware of their close proximity. Maybe it was just her overactive imagination, but Iris couldn't shake the feeling that the air around Barry and her was crackling with electricity, the static making the hair on her neck stand on end...

Their magical moment was broken however, when suddenly the door opened and Wally and Joe appeared in the doorway.

"Dad! Wally!" Iris cried out disgruntedly, blushing together with Barry who had darted away in a quick motion, face glowing in the darkness.

"Sorry, Baby. I was just reminding Wally of his curfew,-" the pajamas-clad boy sported an impish, gap-toothed grin, "but he heard something outside and was hoping to get some answers to his questions from yesterday." Joe (and Iris) gave Wally a stern look, the smile crumbling off the 8-year-old's face.

"Evening Wally... Detective West," Barry spluttered shyly, rubbing his neck anxiously.

"I'm not on duty right now... Joe works just fine," the cop offered, earning a nod of approval from his daughter.

"Joe." The young man repeated, now fumbling with something in his jacket pocket. He finally dug out a piece of paper, glancing uncertainly from Iris to Joe to Wally and back to Iris again. "I actually have most of the answers with me," Barry mumbled, gesturing with the sheet.

"Well, aren't you a boy scout," Iris mused, astonished, "always prepared."

"Cool!" Wally burst out excitedly, forgetting that he probably shouldn't attract any attention to himself right now.

"And **you**," Iris said warningly, glaring at her nephew, " should be in bed by now." The boy appeared to shrink under Iris's look, making her feel bad about the harsh tone in her voice. Iris sent a questioning glance to Barry, who seemed to understand what she meant to convey and nodded slightly as a response.

"Fine," Iris conceded, not wanting to be mean just because her overeager nephew had interrupted them," if Barry goes over the answers with you, do you promise to stay in bed and not complain?"

Wally looked as if Christmas had come early and nodded fervently.

"Okay," Iris turned to Barry, smiling, "I guess that means you're coming inside."

* * *

Half an hour later, Barry and Iris were standing on the porch again, this time Iris had thrown on one of her own jackets to brave the cold of the night.

"Sorry about that," Iris apologized, pulling a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"That's okay, really," Barry shrugged. "It's great that your nephew is so eager for science. It's a lot of fun to explain stuff to him, knowing that he really appreciates it. It's nice."

"I'm sure he's looking forward to his next meeting with you... just as I am," Iris beamed up at the forensic scientist, letting herself be guided by the strange magnetic pull that drew her closer to him.

"I'm definitely, absolutely looking forward to our next meeting as we-" Iris cut Barry's rambling off by pulling him in for a kiss. She hadn't expected a feeling like one of an electric shock coursing through her entire body – from her lips to the tips of her fingers further down to her toes – making every inch of her skin tingle pleasantly and making her feel alive, so very much alive – they finally broke apart, both panting for air.

"Gee, you're one heck of a kisser," Iris laughed breathlessly, while Barry was staring at her, completely flabbergasted.

Then, his cellphone started to ring.

"Sorry," the CSI mumbled, pulling out his phone to glance at the display. A frown made its way unto his face. "I'm really sorry Iris, but I've got to go," Barry spluttered hastily, squeezing Iris's hand apologetically, another electric shock flashing between their hands.

"I'll text – no, call – you later, I promise!" Barry shouted, stumbling down the stairs, nearly falling.

He left a completely dumbfounded Iris behind.

_**Something definitely fishy is going on here.**_

* * *

**Tadaa, the plot thickens! ;) This chapter became so much longer than I intended it to be... oh well... I really tried to get the science stuff right (unfortunately, physics never was my strong suit so this might be a little ill explained). I was super surprised to find out about "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" and couldn't stop laughing about this coincidence; I didn't know about the book but really wanted to bring in non-Newtonian fluids - because they look awesome and _Cisco. Cisco would soo suggest this as an experiment_ ^^ Anyway, I listened to an audio version of it and it's really cute!  
**

**Ah, and I just can't let go of Barry and Iris being potterheads, sorry xD**


	10. Taming the Beast

**Hi guys! Anyone still alive after that incredible finale? I was completely blown away... Luckily, I wrote this before the finale or otherwise it would have ended in incoherent jibberish ;) **

**Even though I will try to mainly work on _'Loveable Nerds and Superheroes'_, I don't plan on neglecting this story compilation, so no worries ;)**

**I just mashed up these two prompts: "I know we've never talked before but there is a friggin _huge _spider in my apartment can you kill it for me" au and "I live next door and I heard screaming so I came over thinking someone was getting murdered and now we're both trying to get the spider out of your apartment" au**

**Enjoy!**

**Taming the Beast**

"Ow... Ow... Ow," Barry groaned to himself, while climbing up the stairs to his apartment on the third floor – _**why was he living in an apartment on the third floor in a building without an elevator again**_?

"I'm never, ever gonna do anything for Cisco again, ever," he muttered under his breath vigoriously, huffing with every step he was taking.

Barry had just returned from helping Cisco move into his new apartment (that was on the fourth floor and although the building had an elevator, the lift had been out of order, naturally). And between him, Cisco and Caitlin, Barry suddenly had been assigned the 'muscle man' of the group... That alone was sad enough (unfortunately, Caitlin's fiancé – Ronnie – was in Philadelphia due to work; he definitely rather qualified as the 'muscle'-part of the group than the lanky forensic scientist), but now Barry's arms and legs also hurt as hell. After a lot of whining and cursing to himself, he finally arrived at his apartment door and – after making a lot of fuzz over the mere fact that he had to lift his arm enough to put the key into the lock – shuffled to his couch to collapse right onto it, not even bothering to close the door.

"I'm never gonna get up from here. Ever," he growled into a pillow, eyes shut tight.

He was already dozing off – when suddenly a high-pitched scream coming from the apartment next door disrupted the silence, causing Barry to flinch so much that he fell off the sofa, bumping his elbow on the coffee table in the process.

"Oh shit," he moaned, then – after he'd realized what had startled him out of his slumber in the first place – Barry dashed out of his apartment.

The front door next to his was ajar – not a good sign – and Barry barged in, fearing the worst.

The room was a mess: a knocked over paper bin laid on the floor, its content scattered everwhere, along with a bunch of keys.

"Thank god, please save me" a strained voice sounded from Barry's left. He turned his head to see his neighbor, a beautiful young woman around his age, who was standing on a shoe rack, pressed against the wall.

_**Was it just him or was this situation actually pretty strange?**_ Barry could not detect anything threatening in the apartment.

"Save you from wha-?" And just as the words were leaving his mouth, a gigantic, black and hairy spider crawled up from under one of the sheets of paper.

"Holy – !" Barry gasped, leaping unto the shoe rack as well, while his neighbor let out a tiny screech.

The spider disappeared under an empty cardboard box of macaroni and cheese and a stack of papers.

"This thing is huge!" Barry panted, eyes trained on the mac'n'cheese box.

"I know, right?! I just wanted to take out the wastepaper and – there it was!" The woman next to him whimpered, tightening the grip on his arm.

_**Wait.**_

Barry only now became aware that she was clinging to his arm, probably to keep him from falling off the rack (that also made suspicious creaky noises whenever one of them moved). He didn't even know her, aside from her last name. _**West.**_

"Ehm... I'm Barry, by the way... Allen," Barry stuttered, flushing bright red.

His neighbor loosened her grasp, also blushing. "Iris West." She gave him a nervous smile, and dang, her smile was pretty.

"I'm sorry for that scream earlier," Iris apologized, realizing why he must have dashed into her apartment.

"I thought someone was going to be murdered or something like that... but, under the circumstances," Barry tossed a wary glance towards the cardboard box, "I can understand."

As if to make a point, the spider appeared again, darting closer to the two adults. Both squeaked in terror.

"I don't suppose that you could get rid of it for me?" Iris asked doubtfully, Barry's high-pitched squeal still ringing in her ears.

The young man turned crimson, rubbing his neck nervously, causing the shoe rack to creak again. The spider crawled a couple of inches away from them.

Barry's eyes flitted to the paper bin.

"We could try putting the bin over the spider."

Iris's eyes went wide: "Could you actually reach it?" Barry could feel Iris's glance on him, eyeing his long limbs.

"It's worth a try... otherwise, we're gonna be here for a very long time, I'm afraid," the scientist said jokingly (although he had that nagging feeling that it wasn't so much a joke but rather the truth).

Iris nodded. "Okay, go."

* * *

It took them nearly ten minutes to get that stupid paper bin and capture the spider (even though Barry's arms were long, they weren't long enough to just grab the bin; in the end Iris had to latch onto Barry's other arm for counterbalance – one time, the spider had moved just while they were trying to retrieve the wastepaper basket, which had almost resulted in Barry toppling head first to the floor if it hadn't been for Iris's quick reflexes).

"Yes, we did it!" Iris triumphed, stacking some incredibly thick books on top of the 'spider-prison'.

Barry just grinned, too exhausted to say anything.

"I owe you one. Big time," Iris declared, genuinely thankful.

"It's okay, really... just a little neighborly help," Barry shrugged, then quickly stopped. _**Ow, that hurt, too.**_

"It was more than just a little help! You saved me from a vicious beast! That's gotta earn you something," Iris objected, furrowing her eyebrows in contemplation. "How's about a home cooked dinner?" She proposed, smiling up up at him warmly, "I'm no culinary mastermind, but I can cook a mean lasagna... and my brownies are awesome, so dessert is safe."

Barry couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I think that would qualify as an adequate compensation."

**Fin.**

* * *

**So I hope you liked it (I'm not one hundert percent sure if I'm happy with it, but maybe that is because I wrote it while being angry/annoyed? I don't know).  
**

**Hopefully, I'll be able to write a bit faster/more this week because I'm at home thanks to a week free of lectures at university :)**

**Anyway, I wish you guys a great day (or night ;) !**


	11. Knight in Shining Armor

**Hi there, it's me again! ;) I swear I'm still working on _'Loveable Nerds and Superheroes'_ but I was just collecting AU prompts from tumblr in case of an emergency... and this one just wouldn't let me go ^^ (Seriously; I only took a break halfway through this because it was 5 a.m. and I _really_ needed to go to bed... also: why are birds so ridiculously loud in the morning? xD ) Anyway, I hope you'll like it! Enjoy!**

**Prompt: pretending to date you because someone was obnoxiously hitting on you AU**

**Knight in Shining Armor**

"How long until I can leave?"

"Barry..." Cisco sighed, who finally stopped rummaging the snacks table for any sort of gummy bears, "I think Caitlin and I were pretty specific when we said that you have to stay at least until midnight before we let you hole up in your fortress of nerditude again." – a wide smile flashed over Cisco's face, his naming skills were impeccable – "And this coming from me should mean something to you." He gave Barry a pointed look, the '**Bazinga!**' t-shirt the engineering student was wearing certainly helped his case, "and by the way man, we both know that you have a perfectly functional watch... so you _know_ how long until we'll let you go."

Barry's shoulders slumped in defeat. Yeah, he knew that he had still 87 minutes and a couple of seconds to suffer through before his friends would allow him to go back to his room... but man, did he dislike these kind of college parties; the music was barely tolerable (just the generic electronic/club music, with the occasional songs that one actually liked – at least, this time the music was not too loud to make any kind of conversation impossible) and there were, like, **a lot** of people Barry did not even know at all. Actually, he was pretty sure that aside from Cisco, Caitlin, Caitlin's boyfriend Ronnie (who had surprisingly managed to persuade Caitlin to join him on the dance floor) and his chem lab partner Patty he had seen earlier, Barry knew no one here.

Cisco's eyes got caught on something (or rather someone) behind Barry, "oh..."; Barry didn't even have to turn around to know who his friend was looking at.

"It's Laurel, isn't it?" He couldn't help but smirk, Cisco's recent (and quite persistent) crush on Laurel Lance, an aspiring law student, wasn't exactly subtle.

"Maybe..." Cisco replied hesitantly, still staring.

"Maybe you should go and talk to her; I'll be fine on my own," Barry suggested, hoping to be able to leave earlier this way.

Cisco finally tore his eyes away from the jurist. "Are you saying that as a friend or just because you think you're gonna be able to sneak off sooner then?"

"Ehm... both?" _**Goddammit, he just couldn't lie to save his life!**_

"Thought so..." Though the engineering student actually seemed tempted to try his luck, "fine, I'll go! But don't even think about making yourself scarce... '_I'll be back_'." He quoted from their last movie marathon – **Terminator 1-4** – giving his best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression (and only succeeding roughly), then left Barry to his own devices.

Barry was just wondering how long he should wait until he could be certain that Cisco had forgotten about him while being engrossed in conversation with Laurel (a short glance in their direction had assured him that it wouldn't be too long anymore considering how animatedly both were talking), when he suddenly felt a warm, small hand touching his upper arm. A petite (and incredibly gorgeous) young woman maneuvered herself into Barry's field of vision, beaming up at him.

"Just look like you're happy to see me," she whispered through her smile, eyes nervously flitting from a figure Barry could not properly see from the corner of his eye, to Barry's still dazed expression on his face.

Barry couldn't exactly say that he was not happy to see her (whoever** she** was), but just couldn't wipe the perplexed look off his face.

The young woman rolled her eyes at his befuddled reaction, but soon, her eyes darted back to that figure (that was heading for their direction, Barry could tell). She got up on her tiptoes, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "quick – put your hands on my waist" she instructed him, her warm breath tickling Barry's face.

Barry clumsily did as he was told, a flush making its way unto his face.

"It would come across as more convincing if you wouldn't blush so much," Barry's mysterious aquaintance whispered, her hands wandering across his shoulders, as in an attempt to smooth out his button-down shirt.

"Who exactly are we trying to convince? And of what?" Barry finally managed to get out, trying his best to prevent himself from taking on an even deeper shade of red.

"See, there is this guy who just wouldn't stop hitting on me although I've told him multiple times that I wasn't interested – apparently that guy is one of these people who are so full of themselves that they can't imagine anyone not falling in love with their _charming_ personality –" Barry let out a short laugh, her sarcasm thick on the word '_charming_', "and I might have told him that I was looking for my boyfriend and "oh, there he is!" … and I might have pointed at you?" She told him nervously, the 'Prince Charming' coming closer (and boy, was that guy intimidating looking).

"So please, save me from that gorilla and pretend to be my boyfriend?" She asked desperately, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

How could he possibly say no to these big brown eyes?

"Alright," he nodded, the blush finally disappearing completely, instead a look of determination settling on his face.

"Thank you!" She beamed up at him, genuinely grateful. "Oh, my name's Iris, by the way. West."

Iris was just about to ask Barry for his name when her dreaded persecutor approached the two supposed lovebirds.

"So... this is your so-called 'boyfriend'?" The guy sneered, obviously not believing their farce.

"Yes, he **is**," Iris insisted, her glare so piercing that Barry was surprised the guy did not even flinch one bit. He tightened his grip around Iris's waist unconsciously, feeling the need to protect her from that..._ person_.

"Babe," Iris adressed Barry, still not knowing his name,"this is Tony, I told you about him? He just wouldn't believe me that I was already taken," she snuggled up to Barry while saying that, not giving away in the slightest that they've only known one another for about two minutes.

"I remember," Barry replied, suddenly getting an idea, "I'm Barry," he introduced himself to Tony (and, more importantly, Iris), extending his hand in greeting (he somehow felt like he was reaching through the bars of a cage containing a tiger, only more in danger), "Barry Allen."

Iris shot him an appreciative glance, instantaneously understanding the purpose of this act, then eyed the handshake between the two men worriedly.

Tony certainly did not try to hide the fact that he was trying to crush Barry's hand to bits (and considering that his arms were about twice the size of Barry's, he came pretty close to achieving his goal, for sure) but Barry wasn't about to give him that satisfaction, stone-faced returning the gesture. _**But man, that was gonna have a lasting impression...ow.**_

"I would have thought you'd pick more of a man than a flimsy boy," Tony said with the most disdainful tone in his voice, after releasing Barry's hand, without deigning to look at Barry.

"Yeah, well, maybe our definitions of what makes a '**man**' differ widely," Iris said with an icy voice, a menacing look on her face, "I'm surprised to learn that you think _at all_. Let's go, Bear."

With that, Iris turned around, taking Barry's not-crushed hand in hers and lead him away from Tony at a brisk pace, not daring to look back. She only stopped when they arrived at the drinks table, making sure they weren't being followed.

"Oh my gosh, I'm soo sorry!" Iris apologized profusely, carefully grabbing Barry's other hand now (that was still red from the pressure of Tony's paw-like hands and kept throbbing unpleasantly). "I really thought that he would just let it go after seeing that he was fighting a losing battle, not trying to break your hand! I'm so, so sorry, Barry!"

"It's okay," Barry placated her with a strained voice, doing his best not to wince when Iris's fingers brushed over his hurt hand, "I just hope that I could help you at all... I did not exactly get the feeling that I intimidated that guy into leaving you alone... _Ow_."

Iris grabbed a couple of napkins from the table and wrapped some ice cubes in them, carefully putting the make-shift cold pack on Barry's injured hand, "here."

"Thanks."

Iris sent Barry a strange look that he could not really interpret: "You know, I don't really want to stay here anymore... I have a real ice pack in the freezing compartment in the fridge in my room, so if you want to, you could come with me... But only if you don't want to stay at the party!"

Barry grinned goofily at her: "I've been waiting forever to get to leave this party after my friends made me promise to stay at least until midnight; I think you just provided me with a sufficient excuse! Besides," he added jokingly, "what kind of fake-boyfriend would I be if I didn't walk you safely to your room?"

"My knight in shining armor," Iris teased with twinkling eyes, linking arms with Barry, "come on, Bear, let's go."

**Fin.**

* * *

**Soo... that's that^^ **

**Also, yay for another appearance of Cisco! He deserves so much more love... (and I'll be forever sorry for the lack of Caitlin; I really love her but I'm not sure if I can write her character properly... so for now, indulge me only mentioning her... I'm working on that). Moreover, bear with my feeble attempts to come up with titles... practice is supposed to make perfect, right?  
**

**As always, feel free to review ;) or leave any suggestions if you want to... (I can't make any promises but I swear I'll try - I haven't forgotten about you, IShipIt87, I swear!) - you guys are awesome!**

**P.S: I'm pretty sure I'm gonna call my room 'Fortress of Nerditude' forever now xD**


	12. Thank You, Becky Cooper

**Hey y'all! Here is a new chapter! This time it's based on a prompt from IShipIt87 who asked me for a high school fic with Barry being bothered by Becky Cooper and him asking Iris to pretend to be his girlfriend/kiss him to get Becky off his back... Thanks so much for your story idea!**

**I tweaked the prompt a little, I hope you don't mind :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Thank you, Becky Cooper**

Iris was just at her locker to put the books of her first two periods away, when a dull ***clang*** next to her startled her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see her best friend standing at his locker (that was only two doors down from hers), his forehead resting against its cool metal, eyes closed in exasperation.

Iris scrunched up her nose in confusion. She knew that Barry's last lesson must have been chemistry, one of his favorite subjects he just wouldn't stop shutting up about... normally. Definitely no reason to look so glum.

"Something wrong, Bear?" Iris asked worriedly.

"Hrnngh" Barry replied growling, while opening his locker with unnecessary much force and subsequently shoving his books into it indignantly, "you'll just say 'I told you so'..." he stuffed his history book into his backpack in a manner that made Iris wonder if that book had ever personally offended him and slammed his locker door shut.

The two teenagers made their way towards their next class, history.

Iris was pretty sure she knew what Barry was referring to: "Ooooh, let me guess the source of your misery – is it... THE Nightmare, also known as Bec_ky _Coo_per_?" Her face distorted with disgust like she was talking about a particularly gross animal... something like a slug or a very hairy spider. Unfortunately Becky Cooper was neither the one nor the other but a real nasty human being.

Barry just nodded affirmatively, a big frown on his face.

Iris shook her head, "See? I told..." she cut herself off, not wanting to rub salt into Barry's wounds. Instead, Iris decided to ask one simple question: "What did she do?"

Barry sighed, irritatedly running a hand through his hair. "I was almost late for chemistry and everyone was already partnered up for today's lesson – except for Becky, of course. We made it through the lesson quite okay – I was focussing on conducting the experiment and she talked... a lot. But then, towards the end of class, she – well – let's say she asked me to come to her house at 5 and help her with her homework-"

"You mean she commanded you to do that, right?" Iris interrupted. Everyone knew that Becky Cooper did not ask anyone for anything. Also, 'help' was not a word in Becky's vocabulary.

Barry just shrugged, not wanting to give Iris the satisfaction of another 'I told you so', "Anyway. I said that I had other plans and had no intention to change them. She got angry and made it clear that otherwise our first date last Saturday would also be our last date if I did not do as she '_asked_'," Barry's voice turned bitter at that last word.

They entered the classroom and seated themselves in the last row, other students pooled inside the room as well, sitting down chattily.

"And?" Iris pressed on. Their class was going to start in a minute or so and Mr. Maxwell did not tolerate any kind of conversation besides his own boring monologues.

"And I told her that I wasn't interested in showing up at her house or in another date with her."

"Bravo, Bear!" Iris complimented her friend, grinning proudly. Usually Becky Cooper's victims took weeks until they finally freed themselves from her evil clutches. And by then, they were in alarming conditions... or at least their self-confidence was.

"Yeah..." Barry murmured deflated, by far not as triumphant as Iris was expecting him to be.

"And?"

"And she kindly told me that she has been the only one to bestow her mercy upon me and go on a date with me for a good reason... Oh, and that I should go on and start adopting cats to get used to my eternal loneliness that will follow up me breaking up with her," Barry rattled off hastily, on the one hand because he was embarrassed of himself for being bothered by Becky's remark and on the other hand because Mr. Maxwell had asked the last student coming in to close the door, so he could begin monologuing.

Iris felt her jaw drop. _**That despicable monster had the audacity...! **_Oh, she definitely had a bone to pick with that Be_cky_ Coo_per_... Her eyes flitted to her best friend who was sitting there with slumped shoulders, pretending to be eagerly writing down whatever their history teacher was babbling about (Iris knew for a fact that Barry normally made use of their history lessons by napping through them... she frequently had to explain him what old Maxwell had talked about later on at home).

Seeing Barry so low-spirited made Iris despise Becky Cooper even more.

She remembered warning Barry of Becky after he had sheepishly, but happily announced that he had a date with that certain... _person_. Iris had heard from some of her female friends how Becky Cooper collected broken nerd hearts like philatelists post stamps. But Barry had laughed her concerns off, reminding Iris that gossip was not necessarily a trustworthy source and he was old enough to take care of himself... _**yeah, apparently not**_...

**'You know that any girl would be happy to be your gf, right?' **Iris scribbled down on a slip of paper, then discreetly slid it to Barry.

She watched her best friend read her message with a strange look on his face, giving her a short and grateful smile (that was somewhat sad around the edges, Iris noticed). That faint reaction as well as Becky Cooper's disgustingly smug face Iris caught a glimpse of when that nightmare had been passing by Barry during lunchtime, was enough to have Iris spend the rest of her day concocting a devious plan for revenge.

* * *

"Let's teach that Be_cky _Coo_per_ a lesson." Iris announced decisively the next day, when she and Barry boarded the bus that would take them to school.

"Mhm, yeah sure," Barry replied apathetically, looking out of the window.

"No, I'm serious, Barry. That horrible person hurt you and I – as your best friend – demand that we're gonna wage war against her! And what better way to do that than to throw her stupid words back into her dumb face?!"

Realizing that she really was serious about it, Barry focused his glance on Iris: "What are you talking about?"

Iris grinned, glad to finally have gotten her best friend's attention: "She said you would end up a crazy, lonely cat-person, right? So what if you turned up with an awesome new girlfriend instead?"

She earned herself a blank stare from Barry.

"Come on, Bear... I'm not that bad of a catch, am I?" Iris joked, nudging Barry's shoulder playfully, "I'll pretend to be your girlfriend and hopefully Becky will choke on her cruel, untruthful words and leave you be!"

Barry turned bright red at Iris's proposal, "I couldn't ask you to do this for me, Iris..."

"That's why I'm offering, you big goof," Iris laughed, winking, "So, what do you say?"

* * *

Barry and Iris entered the school building holding hands, just talking like usual. Iris noticed that Barry's hands were a bit clammy, but she knew that he wasn't a good liar and just gave him a reassuring squeeze. She had no idea that Barry was nearly fainting because here he was, in public, holding hands with the one girl he's always loved – even if it was only pretend.

Funnily enough they didn't have to do a lot differently than usual to assure their cover, Iris noted. A bit more physical contact, sure, but aside from that, no real difference. Besides, this kind of physical contact maybe was a bit unfamiliar for the two of them, but it actually was kind of... _**nice**_, Iris mused, while she and Barry were walking down the hallway towards their lockers, with Iris comfortably nestled up against Barry's body, one of his arms casually draped around her shoulders (okay, maybe not that casually – after all, Iris had to instruct Barry to put his arm around her... but he was getting better at it, slowly but surely reacting to her body instinctively).

She was starting to wonder why nobody of their fellow students reacted to their obvious couple-yness (Iris could have sworn that both Kelly and Alice had winked at her and given her a thumbs up! _**What was going on with everyone?**_), when Becky Cooper herself was strutting towards them, giving them both a death glare. Iris could feel Barry turn rigid.

"I know what this is," Becky hissed, staring daggers at Barry, then Iris.

"An amazing person finding someone to appreciate them for the way they are? Unlike _others_?" Iris challenged her best friend's tantalizer, grabbing Barry's hand to emphasize her point and calm down Barry (and herself).

"Pleease... don't get the impression that your playing pretend does fool anyone," Becky sneered, eyes flickering between Barry and Iris.

Barry started to shuffle his feet self-consciously beside her, tentatively tugging on Iris's hand, trying to pull her away from Becky, who was inching towards the two friends.

Iris felt anger bubbling up inside her – who was that girl to bully Iris's best friend that way? Someone who had been put through enough misery already without the help of tyrants like Tony Woodward or Becky Cooper... someone who had suffered through so much at an early age and had preserved his gentleness, his goodness, his light?!

"Well, then don't let **this **fool you," Iris growled dangerously, then swiveled around to grab Barry by the collar of his button-down shirt and kiss him hotly on the mouth.

Iris could feel Barry stiffen at first, completely taken aback by her action, but then relaxing again, responding to her lips instinctively. A soothing warmth spread throughout Iris's entire body, quenching the blazing fire of her previous rage, putting her at ease. She felt Barry's arms encircling her waist, pulling her closer to him. And strangely enough, I didn't feel weird at all... It felt _**right**_.

In desperate need for air, Barry and Iris broke away from one another, completely dazed by what had just happened.

An unfazed "you owe me ten bucks" coming from one student passing them (apparently directed at his bespectacled friend who promptly was digging some money out of his pocket), brought Barry and Iris back to reality.

Both blushing furiously, Barry and Iris turned around to where Becky Cooper had been standing, only to find out that she was already storming away, not even bothering tossing another glance into their direction. Iris only now became aware of Barry's hands still resting on her hips comfortably.

"Phew," she laughed nervously, gnawing her lips, her glance involuntarily wandering back to Barry's, which were now slightly glittery thanks to her lip gloss, "I never thought I'd say this, but... thank you, Becky Cooper?"

Barry laughed huskily, licking off the strawberry lip gloss of his lips.

"Thank you, Becky Cooper," he repeated, grinning goofily at Iris, who rolled her eyes at Barry's silliness before poking him in the stomach playfully.

"I think you missed a spot." And with that, Iris planted a big smooch on Barry's cheek, smearing the rest of her lip gloss all over his face.

**Fin.**

* * *

**I hope you guys liked it :)  
**

**As always: Reviews, constructive criticism and story suggestions are always welcome! :)**

**Also a heads-up for '_Loveable Nerds and Superheroes_': I've finally somewhat settled for a real _plot_-plot (my indecisiveness is my worst enemy, I swear) and chapter 4 is about halfway/ two-thirds done, so... soon ^.^**


	13. Puppy Love

**Hi guys! Sorry for making you wait for so long... Thanks so much for your reviews, follows, favorites and ideas! You are awesome!**

**This is based on the following prompt: cat/dog runs away and other person finds it AU ... also, I blame my best friend for this... sending me cute videos of puppies is really dangerous ^^  
**

**Puppy Love**

It was a lovely day out, with the sun shining and the birds chirping cheerfully. Iris and Linda were walking about the park, returning from their lunch break at Jitters and heading back for their workplace, Central City Picture News.

"Oh come on, Iris, what flimsy excuse is it this time?" Linda groaned, flawlessly tossing the empty cup of her coffee to go into the nearest trash can in passing.

"I told you; it's high time for my spring-cleaning this year," Iris argued, trying to copy her friend's move – and failing: the cup bounced off the edge of the bin, landing in the grass. Iris quickly stepped forward to put her coffee cup into the garbage can before she could earn a dismissive glance from the elderly woman sitting on the bench next to it.

"It's already the first week of June, girl – I think you missed the time frame to do your spring-cleaning," Linda pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Better late than never," Iris mumbled, not meeting her co-worker's eyes.

"Uh-huh... Well, then it shouldn't hurt you to postpone your cleaning a bit more and instead go to that party with me Friday night?" Both women continued their stroll.

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

The sports reporter let out a sigh, "Iris, I know that you're still recovering from your break-up with Eddie... But it's been several weeks now! And I'm not asking you to go out and marry the first guy on sight; I just thought we could have a nice girls night out again..."

Before Iris could even try to come up with another excuse, something yellow darted past the two journalists, coming to a halt right in front of Iris's feet. Iris nearly tumbled over it, barely keeping her balance, "what the-?"

The something was a dog. An adorable, little yellow Labrador, that was wiggling it's tail excitedly.

Iris's eyes widened.

"Awww," she cooed, kneeling down, the puppy jumping around her playfully, "aren't you a cute little fella!"

Being more of a cats-person, Linda rolled her eyes. When Iris encountered a puppy, there was no chance of continuing a previously begun conversation. With Iris still fawning over the dog, giggling as it licked her fingers, Linda looked around for the owner, wondering when she'll get her best friend back (as she was being ignored completely right now, awkwardly standing next to the dog-lover). Finally, her eyes got caught on a figure heading into their direction, leash in hand. Closely examining the person coming closer, a smile stole its way onto Linda's face.

"I think I'll leave you and your lover alone," she announced to her friend, who was delightedly scratching the lab behind its ears, "I'll see you at work."

"Har har," Iris fake-laughed, eyes not leaving the young dog in front of her.

"You are such a cutie" she addressed the puppy, getting a tiny bark and an excited tail wiggle in return. Iris laughed and petted the dog some more until the Labrador lunged forward to give her a sloppy lick on her face, causing Iris to topple on her butt ungracefully.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," a male voice right behind her said, "Sir Isaac is a bit unruly."

_**Sir Isaac?**_ Aside from being pretty embarrassed, Iris was now also utterly confused. The dog however, darted past her and towards the man, excitedly jumping up and down his long legs. Iris sat up clumsily, eyes following the Labrador, trailing up the legs and torso of the young man the puppy was currently bouncing around, until her glance finally came to rest on his face. He had light brown hair and green eyes with long eyelashes, wearing an apologetic and nervous look on his face. He bore a ridiculously close resemblance to a puppy himself, Iris thought. In one swift move, the stranger leashed the young dog before holding out a helping hand to Iris who was still sitting on the ground. "I hope he didn't bother you too much..."

Iris took his hand and he quickly hoisted her up (his grip was much stronger than his gangly frame led to believe), "thanks," she said, a familiar licking of her fingers brought her focus back to his previous question, "and he didn't bother me at all. I love dogs. That," Iris gestured at the spot of grass she had plopped on earlier, "was just a little ill-balanced act of affection."

Iris's response was met with a hearty laugh, "yeah, that's kind of Sir Isaac's thing."

"Sir Isaac?" Iris asked, incredulous.

Sir Isaac's owner turned a deep shade of red, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Um... yeah, that's his name," he admitted sheepishly, shuffling his feet, "actually, I wanted to call him Newton... - and yeah, that's probably not any better, I know... But my roommate, Cisco, was making fun of my poor choice of a name, saying that I should have left the naming part to him, so he mocked me by calling Newton 'Sir Isaac' instead – and now he only answers to that name."

The dog let out an enthusiastic woof as if in affirmation, then tugged on his leash, trying to get closer to Iris.

"Sir Isaac Newton, huh? Are you a physicist or something?" Iris asked, reaching out to scratch Sir Isaac behind his ears. The Labrador made a sound of contentment, closing his eyes.

"A forensic scientist, actually. I work at the CCPD."

"Oh, my Dad works there, too! You might know him... Detective West?" the CSI nodded affirmatively, "oh and I'm Iris, by the way," Iris added, a little nudge from Sir Isaac reminded her to keep petting him (she had stopped for just a few seconds).

"Barry Allen," the young man introduced himself, watching the interaction between Iris and his dog with a goofy smile. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous... -" Barry's eyes widened comically as he realized that this didn't come out the right way, "I mean like in that he likes you more than me..." he blushed again, fidgeting nervously.

Iris let out a laugh, amused by his endearing awkwardness. "I think I get what you mean," she assured the forensic scientist, still smiling, then suddenly came to realize that she had completely lost track of time. Mason was probably going mad by now (even more so than normally).

"Oh... I've got to go back to work... I work at Central City Picture News," the journalist explained, giving Sir Isaac one last pet – was it just her imagination or did the puppy actually kind of pout when she withdrew her hand? She looked up at Barry who wore a similar expression on his face... _**these two were taking the entire dog-and-owner-look-alike-thing to a complete new level, seriously**_...

"Sorry, I have to get going... it was really nice meeting you," Iris said wistfully, turning around to leave.

"Oh, hey Iris?" The journalist glanced back at Barry who sported a sheepish but also kind of hopeful smile, "Sir Isaac and I take a walk around this park pretty much every day around 1 at noon and then again 7 in the evening... Soo in case you'd like to put your mad dog petting skills to good use, you know where to find us... I'm pretty sure Sir Isaac would be more than happy to see you again... I certainly would be," his face turned beet-red and he barely mumbled the last words, but Iris heard them perfectly.

"Who knows, maybe I'll be at the park around that time later on," she grinned, shrugging casually.

Barry beamed at her, "Yeah, who knows."

**Fin.**

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter! Unfortunately, this is probably gonna be my last story for now... I really have to get started on revising for my exams that will torture me until the end of August :( And I really want to finish _Loveable Nerds and Superheroes_ before exam time is there, so...  
**

**But I hope that I'll be able to return with a whole bunch of new stories after that:)**


	14. Rush Hour

**Oh my gosh, it's been almost a year since my last update of this collection of one-shots... I'm soo sorry guys! *hides in shame* I had (have) a huge writer's block and kinda got stuck with ALL of my works in-progress.  
**

**But, like Girder, I've been revived! I'm going to try to finish all of my WIPs (at least 3 one-shots, plus the first chapter of the sequel to Loveable Nerds and Superheroes is almost done :), hopefully not needing another 11 months to do so... ^^;**

**The idea for this story came from a dream I had (westallen is practically always on my mind ;) - it was probably influenced by some height difference prompts I had read the day before on tumblr ^^**

Rush Hour

For the umpteenth time, Iris smoothed out her dress and tightened the grip on her purse. Her glance nervously flitted back to the clock hanging above her. She knew that she was being ridiculous – the subway was going to arrive in one minute and even if it was late, she still had plenty of time to spare. But nevertheless, what would it look like if Iris was tardy on her _**first**_ day of work? She hadn't worked her ass off at college, stress-eaten through her dissertation and gotten footsore at Jitters to finally get the perfect job at Central City Picture News – only to be late on her first day! Iris had just finished her train of thought when the actual train pulled into the station. Iris couldn't help but be astounded by the enormous amount of people who were already inside the cars – and only four people got out. Iris boarded the subway, looking around the wagon – and of course, all the seats were taken. What was even worse though, there were so many people inside the car that it was practically impossible to get a hold on one of the poles either. Iris eyed the hand railings above her with a scowl; even in heels, she was still too short to comfortably hold on to those. But the doors closed and the train was about to set into motion - Iris quickly grabbed for the railing and noted with annoyance that she had to get on her tiptoes to reach that fully – after the initial, abrupt movement Iris let go again.

She let her eyes wander about her fellow passengers, secretly looking if anyone else was having the same problem as her... But no, everyone else who had to stand and wasn't holding on to a pole was ridiculously tall... Iris scoffed. Fine, she didn't need to hold on to anything; she was an adult on the way to her adult-job and she could stand on her own feet (literally _**and**_ figuratively)! Iris crossed her arms defiantly, suppressing the urge to pout.

_**Add a few more people and there wouldn't even be a chance of falling over in this car, anyway**_... Iris had never taken the subway during the rush hour before; her shifts at Jitters had either started earlier than that (the morning shifts had always been the most dreadful of shifts) or much later. The former barista was still mulling over this when the next stop was announced. Bracing herself for the halt, Iris put her feet a bit further apart to improve her footing. _**No big deal, just keep your balance; it can't be that har**_\- and promptly, Iris began tumbling past a fellow straphanger – a leggy, smug-looking blonde, who of course had no trouble holding on to the handrail above – and right into someone's solid chest. With a final jolt (that made Iris grab a fistful of that someone's cardigan and also prompted said person to put a steadying hand on her hips), the train came to a complete stop.

"Oh my gosh, I'm **so** sorry!"

–"Whoa, careful there!"

Iris and the guy she currently clung to exclaimed simultaneously, only to fall awkwardly silent at the same time again. Embarrassed, Iris wanted nothing more than to tear herself away from him but due to the flock of people shoving past them to get off the train and the great amount of people who got on the train subsequently, Iris and the stranger just got pushed even closer together. When there was finally room to move again, Iris made another attempt to break away from their awkward position, when, with a start, the train started moving once more and if it hadn't been for the hand still resting on the small of her back, Iris would have been sent stumbling through the car again. As soon as Iris regained her balance once more, the guy withdrew his hand immediately, giving her a chance to take a step back. This also gave her the opportunity to get a closer look at his face (or rather, a better look; they had been close enough already, Iris recalled with her cheeks burning): he was pretty handsome, in an adorable-puppy kinda way, with very pretty green eyes and slightly tousled, light brown hair. He was very tall and presently blushing pretty hard himself.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Iris apologized again, pulling a stubborn lock of hair behind her ear nervously, "I didn't mean to – I didn't expect the subway to be so crowded and I was having a bit of trouble just holding on to the handrail – even in heels I'm ridiculously short-"

"That's okay; I'm tall!" the stranger blurted out excitedly before flushing beet-red, " I mean if you need something to hold on to... and there's nothing else... you can hold on to me if you want to," his nervous babbling began to speed up impressively," – And I don't mean that in a creepy way, I swear!... I just wanted to... um... say that I wouldn't mind."

He was suddenly very interested in his shoes, peeking at her from under his ridiculously long eyelashes in an adorable boyish way.

Right on cue, the next stop was announced and Iris decided to take rambling-boy up on his offer: "That's actually very nice of you, I think I'm gonna take you up on that...I'm probably a hazard for everyone else here," she joked, eliciting a chortle from – the guy whose name she still didn't know, "I'm Iris, by the way."

Instead of a handshake, Iris tucked her arm into his, giving him a thankful smile.

He returned her gesture with a grin of his own:"Barry."

The train came to a halt and they were once more pushed closer together by passengers who were eager to get off the train (at least this time, it felt a lot less embarrassing than before).

"So, you haven't had the pleasure of the Central City rush hour so far?" Barry asked, while people brushed past the two of them. "You wouldn't have been surprised by how packed it is if you'd had," he explained with a grimace while nearly getting hit in the face with an umbrella someone gesticulated with carelessly in passing, "unfortunately it's that crowded pretty much always around this time."

Iris eyed the bustle skeptically, "Great, so there's something to look forward to..." then got back to Barry's initial question: "I used to work as a barista at Jitters; the coffee machines already have to be up and running by the time people pool into the city or there would be a massacre, believe me."

Her response earned Iris a chuckle from Barry.

"I can imagine that."

The subway doors were closing again and Iris held on tighter to Barry's arm, bracing herself for the upcoming jerking. Iris let her eyes wander, still a little baffled by the masses of people squeezed into the car when her gaze landed upon the leggy blonde who had now replaced that smug look of hers with a disbelieving stare at Barry and Iris's unaffected togetherness. Iris had a hard time suppressing a grin.

Barry, who hadn't noticed the incredulous look directed their way, carried on with their conversation: "So you're not a barista anymore?"

"Nope, I'm on my way to CCPN for my first day of work actually."

"So you're a journalist?"

"I'm trying to be."

"That's cool. I'm sure you're gonna do great; you strike me as someone who can do anything once you set their mind to it," Barry observed, thoughtful expression on his face.

The sincerity in his voice made Iris blush a little,"well thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll certainly try my best." They shared a sweet smile before Iris changed the subject: "And where are you off to?"

In the end, they ended up being so engrossed in conversation that Iris nearly missed her stop; she barely got out the subway car just in time, though she could still hear Barry's "good luck!" before the doors finally closed behind her. With a spring in her step, Iris made her way to CCPN.

* * *

The next day, Iris was eagerly waiting for the subway again, although this time her impatience was not entirely rooted in a wish to be on time for her job (she'd had plenty of time to get to the CCPN building yesterday, which had assuaged her worries considerably). When the train pulled into the station, she deliberately boarded the same subway car as yesterday, even though this one was probably the most crowded. Nervously gnawing on her lower lip, Iris looked around the car hesitantly, wondering if she was being foolish to think – her eyes came to rest on a certain tall passenger in the back of the car, who also appeared to be on the lookout for someone. Grinning, Iris pushed past a pair of chattering teenagers when said passenger noticed her as well, sporting a wide smile of his own: "Hey Iris," he greeted her enthusiastically, blushing slightly.

"Hey Barry," the journalist replied happily when the beeping sound of the closing doors reminded the two of them that the train was just about to pull out of the station. Without comment, Barry offered his arm to Iris (she could see a smile tugging at his lips when she linked arms with him, though and that in return, made her feel pretty giddy herself) and looked at her curiously: "So, how was your first day at work?"

The train started moving and Iris tightened her grip on Barry's arm, smiling brightly at him: "Pretty great, actually..."

**Fin.**

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**I hope you enjoyed my comeback-piece . Reviews/suggestions would make me very happy :)  
**


	15. Rush Hour II

**Hi! Yay, it didn't take me another couple of months to write something new! ^^ I enjoyed "Rush Hour" so much (and apparently others, too) that I decided to add a chapter... only that this chapter turned out super long after, like, two thirds of what I planned to write about... So I decided to break it up into two more chapters... So here is part 2:  
**

**Rush Hour II**

Iris was on her way to the subway station, deep in thought.

Three weeks had passed since she had met Barry Allen on the subway and Iris was starting to grow impatient. Scratch that; she already was impatient, but was now becoming frustrated, too. Three weeks of talking about roommates, friends, work or whatever they had on their minds, exchanging book and music recommendations – and he still hadn't asked her out for a date! It wasn't that Iris expected being friendly fellow passengers for a few weeks would inevitably lead to a date... It was simply due to the fact that she was about ninety-five percent sure that Barry actually was interested in her (the only reason she wasn't one hundred percent certain was simply because he was just **so** nice that she couldn't rule out the possibility of being fooled by his sweet demeanor). But she had noticed those little, telltale signs: the way he smiled when she boarded the train and the disappointed look on his face when she had to get off again, him sneaking glances at her when he thought that she wasn't looking and the faint blush whenever she 'almost' caught him doing so (sometimes, Iris amused herself by pretending to look around the wagon just to 'suddenly' redirect her look at Barry; the flustered look on his face was just too adorable). All these things were pretty strong indicators that he might like her (hell; aside from the frequent blushing, she was exhibiting all of these herself!)... but still – nothing!

Reaching the platform just on time before the subway was about to arrive, Iris decided to take matters into her own hands: it was the 21st century, if he wasn't going to make a move, she would have to do the asking out!

Iris was just beginning to get nervous about her decision – because, what if she actually had misread his behavior?! It would turn into the most awkward and uncomfortable subway ride ever and maybe they would have to drop their nice little routine just because the awkwardness would be unbearable – when the train pulled into the station. The journalist squared her shoulders, hopping on 'their' subway car, ready to face the moment of truth (because no matter what – Iris West was not a quitter!) – when she realized that Barry wasn't there.

Iris checked the wagon again, maybe she had overlooked Barry somehow (which, considering his height, was pretty unlikely) – nope, there was no adorable, brightly smiling CSI to be found.

'This better not be the universe giving me some sort of sign,' Iris thought, disheartened.

* * *

Iris spent the entire subway ride uncomfortably holding on to the handrail above, people knocking against her while boarding/getting off the train (only now she realized that Barry had actually shielded her from most pushes and shoves), trying to come up with an explanation for Barry's absence: Maybe he was in another wagon (unlikely), or he had overslept and missed this train (he had told her stories about his infamous tardiness; but for the past three weeks he had always been on time for the subway, an occurrence which apparently had puzzled his boss and co-workers immensely). Perhaps he had taken a day off (but they had seen one another yesterday and he hadn't mentioned any plans of that kind) or he had caught a cold or something (though there was currently no cold epidemic going around and Barry had looked perfectly healthy to her the day before).

Iris wished they had exchanged phone numbers but they had always been too engrossed in conversation (besides, it wasn't like they had any hands free for their cellphones anyhow, with Iris clinging on to Barry and Barry holding on to the handrail).

Once more, Iris almost missed her stop because of Barry Allen; only that this time it was his lack of presence rather than the other way around...

* * *

This evening, Iris was over at her dad's like every Tuesday for the usual family dinner (except that this time, it was only her and her father; because Wally – her brother – was at his friend Kyle's birthday party). It being just the two of them was both a blessing and a curse; it meant that Wally wouldn't be there to witness what would most likely end up being a pretty embarrassing moment (and tease her endlessly about it) but on the other hand there was nobody to distract her father from her slightly nervous behavior.

Ever since Barry's absence this morning, Iris's thoughts had always come back to the same conclusion: that she could probably find out what was going on if she only asked her dad. As a detective at the CCPD, Joe West would most likely know if anything was wrong with the young forensic scientist; Central City's finest were a close-knit bunch as Iris knew from her dad's account (as well as from experience).

Even though she had been waiting the whole day to get the opportunity to ask her dad about Barry('s absence), Iris still had just enough patience in her to restrain herself from plunging right into that. After all, her father was going to talk about his job sooner or later anyway...

Two hours of preparing an entire meal plus salad plus dessert and eating said food (except for dessert) and Iris was still desperately waiting for her dad to mention the precinct! She couldn't really explain it to herself how he had managed to circumnavigate around this particular topic, but he had done it masterfully...

Running out of her last ounce of patience, Iris decided to just get it over with; maybe her dad wouldn't notice that she had an ulterior motive...

"So Dad, everything going all right at the precinct? Are you guys still profiting from Captain Singh's good mood?" Iris decided that putting in a nod to Singh's upcoming wedding would conceal the real intention of her first question a bit.

Joe took another sip of wine, looking suspiciously unconcerned: "Captain's fine. The preparations seem to be almost finished by now, so he has more time to be disgruntled again but on the whole, he's still in a fairly good mood."

Suddenly nervous because of her father's displayed nonchalance, Iris quickly got up to stack their empty plates to take them to the kitchen, giving her dad a wide smile (probably too wide if she read that look on his face correctly): "Good... that's good."

"Uh-huh."

Iris could see that her dad had this very unique expression on his face that was a mixture of his 'knowing stare' and his 'glinting eyes of amusement' – combined together, they formed an entirely new look that basically said: "I know exactly what you are hiding but I'll play along just to humor you"._** Oh how she hated that look!**_

Defeated, Iris plopped down on her seat again with a sigh: "Fine, I'll cut to the chase..."

Her dad nodded almost imperceptibly, humming something under his breath that sounded suspiciously much like "finally". Iris decided to forgo her father's reaction and and went on:

"You know that young CSI, right? Barry Allen?" And there was that knowing look again, this time accompanied with a small smirk.

"Well, as it turns out, he takes the same subway to work as me and when I was on my way to CCPN for that very first day of work, I kinda literally bumped into him – you wouldn't believe how crammed the subway is during the rush hour and those stupid handrails are just way too high up – anyway, " Iris blushed, realizing that she had gotten a little sidetracked, "we sorta became subway buddies: meeting up in the same subway car, chatting friendly with one another, you know," she added, feeling the need to clarify the situation (just so her dad wouldn't get any wrong ideas – after all, her acquaintance with Barry was purely platonic –_as of yet_). "And I noticed that he wasn't on the train today... I was a bit surprised by that... and I just couldn't help but wonder if you knew anything about that? I mean, like, did he take a day off or was he just late or anything of that sort?"

"So that's the reason why the-ever-tardy Allen-kid was so punctual these past weeks," Joe mused, looking at his daughter with an unreadable expression on his face. Iris ignored her father's statement and instead quirked an eyebrow, still waiting for an answer to her previous question.

"Right," the cop stopped his pondering and went on, "at first we had thought he had gone back to his usual pattern of tardiness but then he called in sick; apparently he had to go to the hospital," Iris's pulse quickened, eyes wide with apprehension, "acute appendicitis, I believe – nothing too serious," Joe was quick to add, appeasing his daughter's worry.

Iris relaxed visibly, then suddenly, an idea popped up in her head.

"Do you happen to know which hospital Barry's staying at?" Iris asked carefully, a plan forming in her mind. "I'm just curious," she added defensively, noticing her dad's skeptical look.

"Uh-huh, sure," he replied, obviously not believing her, "I think he's at the Central City Memorial."

Iris nodded slowly, deep in thought, surprising her father with her lack of response.

"So that's what all the squirming was about? You were just worried about your 'subway buddy'?" Joe asked with a teasing tone in his voice, disrupting his daughter's train of thought.

Blushing, Iris practically leaped to her feet, grabbed the stack of empty plates and headed for the kitchen: "I hope you left some room for dessert."

The sound of Joe's rumbling laugh reverberated through the dining room.

* * *

**I'm sorry that I'm updating so slowly on all fronts but I'm preparing for finals next month (ugh) and I won't have much time for writing this weekend (yay Comic Con ^^) ... But I'm writing a little something almost every day, so my writer's block is pretty much gone :)  
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyhow :) **

**(Reviews are always welcome ;)  
**


	16. Rush Hour III

**I'm so sorry for taking forever to finally finish up the third part of Rush Hour! I hope this chapter will be worth the looong wait :)  
**

**Rush Hour III**  


The next day, Iris was able to get her hands on her dad's car. She wanted to check out the women's shelter over at Keystone to write a piece on the place (it would also come in handy for another plan she had for later that day). Joe had assured her that it was no problem at all – his newly assigned partner Eddie Thawne could pick him up for work.

The journalist spent the morning talking with the people running the shelter. She learned about the services and programs they offered (as well as services they would like to offer but couldn't due to underfunding), the challenges and struggles that came with running the place and even got a chance to interview a few residents.

Around noon, Iris left the shelter, after saying good-bye to its staff and residents. The journalist grabbed some lunch on the way, then drove to CCPN to write her story.

Still motivated by her previous meeting, it didn't take long for Iris to finish her first draft. She then managed to persuade her mentor Mason Bridge to read over it (whose grouchy exterior she had began to wear down slowly, but surely; especially since she had found out about his fondness for pastries).

Mason appeared to be quite impressed with Iris's article (not that he told her that forthrightly, but Iris liked to think that she knew Mason well enough now to interpret his approving nod and lack of criticism correctly). Beaming (though not too brightly while Mason was still around), Iris got back to work to incorporate the few pointers her mentor had given her and finished the story. Handing in this article felt really good. This is was exactly why Iris wanted to get into journalism in the first place: so she could give a voice to those who needed to be heard. With a spring in her step, Iris made her way to her dad's car to take on the other item on today's agenda and headed for Central City Memorial.

* * *

At the hospital, Iris went up the reception desk to ask for Barry's room number. The kind receptionist gave Iris the number and pointed out that she was lucky to still catch "Mr. Allen", as he was to be discharged today. Iris thanked the lady for the information and went on to search for the room (only getting lost once).

When Iris finally found room 4.56, she took a deep breath before hesitantly knocking on the room's door.

A very familiar voice sounded from the other side of the door: "Come in!"

Iris entered the room carefully, a bashful smile on her face.

"Hey," she said shyly.

"Iris..." Barry said softly, looking at her with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe she was actually there. He was currently resting on top of the covers of the hospital bed, fully dressed in his usual jeans and plaid shirt. His hair was slightly messier than usual and he looked a bit paler, too, but aside from that he seemed to be okay.

"I mean, hi," Barry added clumsily, automatically straightening up just a little, only to slightly wince when he did, "I didn't expect you to come for a visit – not that I mind of course," the CSI was quick to add, "it's nice that you're here."

Iris's smile grew wider. It was really crazy how much she had missed Barry's sweet awkwardness after just one day.

"I heard about your appendicitis from my dad," she said, feeling the need to explain her surprise visit, (conveniently leaving out the part where she actually had to ask her dad to find out about that tidbit of information in the first place,) "so I just wanted to check in with you. How are you?"

"Much better than yesterday," Barry assured her, "though it still hurts a little, of course. But the appendix didn't burst and they removed it laparoscopically, so I should be fine in 1-3 weeks."

"Good," Iris said, relieved, "good."

They both smiled bashfully at each other, a strange silence falling upon them.

Their quiet was interrupted by a quick, short rap sounding from the door, before it was swiftly opened and a man in a white coat entered, who Iris assumed had to be Barry's doctor-

"Barry, I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't drive you- oh, I didn't realize you had a visitor," the man stopped abruptly, mustering Iris curiously.

To Iris's surprise, Barry flushed bright red. The CSI cleared his throat anxiously, rubbing his neck in a nervous gesture:

"Um, Dad, this is Iris – Iris this is my dad."

_Oh_.

**Now** Iris definitely understood the reason behind that vibrant blush.

"Nice to meet you Mr. – um," Iris's eyes darted to the name tag on the lab coat, and she quickly corrected herself, "Dr. Allen."

"Nice to meet you, too," Barry's dad replied kindly, eyeing Iris curiously.

"So you are the famous Iris?"

"Um," was all Iris could come up with, her eyes darting over to Barry, who managed to turn an even darker shade of red Iris hadn't thought possible.

"I might have mentioned how we've bumped into each other and become subway buddies," Barry explained in what he seemed to believe to be an nonchalant tone.

"Right," Dr. Allen affirmed earnestly, although the crinkles around his eyes seemed to betray his seriousness.

"Anyway, " the doctor continued, turning to Barry "I just came in to tell you that I can't take you home, son – Dr. Young called in sick and I have to take over her shift, sorry."

"It's alright, Dad, I'll find another way to get home-"

"I could drive you home if you'd like," Iris offered nervously.

"Oh." Was the first response Barry came up with, his face lightening up considerably, before his cheeks reddened anew, probably from being aware of his company.

"That would be great, I mean, as long as it's not too inconvenient for you... You don't have to, of course, I'm sure I could ask Cisco to pick me up if you rather not...-"

"Barry, it's okay – I was the one to offer you a ride in the first place, remember?" Iris cut him off with a laugh; she had **really** missed Barry's nervous and endless rambles.

"Besides, we still have to make up for yesterday's subway's ride you missed out on, don't we, 'subway buddy'?" The words had just left her mouth, when Iris couldn't help but think of the _other_ thing the two of them had missed out on yesterday – the very thing that might change their status of being just that: subway _bud__dies_... She fought off a blush of her own.

"That's true," Barry replied good-humoredly, blessedly unaware of Iris's struggle.

Dr. Allen, who had been watching the young adults with an amused expression on his face, had come to the conclusion that everything was settled and his presence was no longer needed: "Well, now that I know you're in good hands, I'll get back to work... Nice meeting you, Iris," he said, flashing her a kind smile (which just bore such a resemblance to his son's that Iris couldn't help but return it, despite the fact that she was very busy not dying from awkwardness right now.)

Barry's dad was almost out of the door when he addressed his son once more: "Oh and don't forget to call your mom when you're home, slugger." And with that, the doctor went back to work, disappearing in the many labyrinthine hallways of the hospital.

Iris couldn't help but look at Barry with a quizzical eyebrow, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth: "Slugger?"

The young man nervously picked at a loose thread of his shirt, avoiding eye contact: "It's an old nickname... Why, can't believe that I got into my fair share of fights as a kid?"

"Oh no, I'm sure you were a regular rowdy; being president of the Pokémon club or something like that," Iris teased.

"I wasn't in a Pokémon club," Barry protested in fake indignation.

"It was Dragon Ball Z."

Iris let out a loud chortle.

* * *

They spent the drive to Barry's place in their usual comfortable closeness, full of banter and the swapping of anecdotes (this time specifically about their respective appendectomies – Iris's appendix had burst when she was 16 while she'd been at school; an ambulance had to pick her up and taken her to the hospital).

"After that spectacular exit, I got so many stuffed animals, 'get-well-soon' cards and boxes of chocolate..." Iris concluded her narration enthusiastically, making Barry smile at her unabashed chocolate obsession.

"Well, I'm gonna be looking forward to that," he said teasingly, before carrying out his role as navigator and adding: "Turn the next one right and we're there."

Iris followed his instructions and came to a halt in front of Barry's place.

"Oh, you won't have to wait too long for that," Iris replied cryptically, putting the car into park.

Barry gave her a questioning look.

Grinning, Iris reached behind her seat and produced a brightly colored gift bag.

"As you can see, I put some chocolate in there and some of the CDs and movies I'd told you about... so you won't be too bored without me," Iris added teasingly.

"This is amazing, Iris," Barry said, accepting the gift bag with a soft smile. For a quick moment, Iris saw some other expression wash over his face, but before she could identify it, it was gone again, instead replaced with a look of nervous determination.

"I don't know if this will be enough to substitute for your company till I'll return to work though..." Barry suddenly appeared to be very intrigued with his hands that were still holding on to the gift bag, fingers twiddling with the straps of it, "Maybe we could meet up some time this week to talk or watch one of these movies together or something like that – only if you want to, of course!"

Iris watched Barry rattle off his suggestion with impressive speed, his pretty green eyes nervously flitting between her face and his hands.

"You mean... like a date?" she asked tentatively, trying to make sense of Barry's fidgety behavior.

She watched Barry still fiddle with the gift bag's strap, drawing in a deep breath, before he finally looked up and admitted shyly: "Um, yeah... but if you don't want to, I totally..."

He was interrupted by Iris's giggles.

"...understand?" Barry trailed off, looking adorably confused.

"I'm sorry for laughing," Iris apologized hastily, still chuckling, "I would love to watch a movie with you – as in a date," she was quick to add in order to assure Barry, whose facial expression changed from completely flabbergasted to utterly relieved and happy, "it's just – literally just yesterday **I** had decided to ask **you** out and when you weren't on the train, I couldn't help but worry that your absence had been some sort of sign... kinda misread that one, huh?"

"Kinda," Barry agreed, now laughing himself – a move he regretted immediately, because heartily laughingafteran_ appendectomy_ was not the smartest thing he could have done.

"Ouch, sorry," Iris apologized empathetically, watching Barry trying to mask a wince of pain.

"It's okay, really," he reassured her, smiling brightly at her as soon as the quick pang had subsided.

Maybe it was the relief of finally knowing that he liked her back, or maybe it was just the way he looked at her like she was the greatest thing he'd ever seen – but all of a sudden, Iris felt a certain boldness she hadn't felt before.

"Maybe I should kiss it better," she found herself saying, leaning towards Barry. She could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"Mhm," was his breathy reply, before they both leaned in and kissed.

Something cozily warm and simultaneously positively electric washed over Iris's whole body; the kiss didn't last long, but it had felt just so _right_, Iris couldn't believe that it had taken her and Barry three stinkin' weeks to finally make it happen.

Iris could hear Barry breathing heavily and the look in his eyes was enough for her to know that he felt the same way.

"You know what, I think this will speed up my recovery considerably," Barry said in a low voice, making her laugh.

"Oh well – allow me to nurse you back to health," Iris quipped, before pulling Barry into another kiss.

**Fin.**


	17. I think I'm in love with you

**I got a Tumblr prompt and this is what I came up with... Set during 2x19 'Back To Normal'; right before Barry and friends set out for Central City Amusement Park to confront Griffin Grey...  
**

**"I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified"**

"All right. Hopefully, one gimme punch is all I need."

Barry began taking the upgraded Flash suit off the dummy to get ready for 'superhero time', while Jesse and Cisco quickly left the den to pick up the necessary equipment from Cisco's work shop and get the stuff into the S.T.A.R. Labs van.

Iris knew that she should be lending those two a hand so they would be done quicker, but all that talk about punching bags and piñatas made her linger a little longer at Barry's side. She watched him peel the mask off the display dummy, his shoulders squared and jaw set, determined to get back into the suit to face yet another meta-human – even though he currently had no powers of his own.

And Iris had wholeheartedly meant what she had said to Barry earlier – that he had always been a hero, no matter what, had never shied away from danger when people needed help – but his speed was gone and Griffin Grey's powers were still there and dangerous and real. She felt fear bubbling up inside of her, choking her.

Just then Barry turned around, the pieces of his suit gathered in his arms so he could get dressed, turn into the hero the people of this city loved (when in reality, the 'ordinary' forensic scientist right in front of her was the person they should be cheering on; even more so than the red-clad superhero), noticing the distressed look on her face: "Iris? What's wrong?"

He was about to face a guy who could bend steel like it was rubber and looked more concerned about _**her**_. Iris's heart swelled, and with a sudden clarity she knew what it was that had her in this agitated state: '_**I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified. Terrified of losing you**_.' She wanted to tell him but the words were too novel, too hard to say just yet.

"Just... be careful, okay?" She said instead, voice trembling slightly.

The expression on Barry's face softened, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth: "Of course. I've got you, Cisco, Jesse and Joe to look out for me – I'm in good hands."

**Fin.**

* * *

**First, I had a really hard time coming up with something for that prompt... and then I made myself tear up when this scenario invaded my brain ^^;  
**


	18. The Story Behind Joe's Wrecked Car

**My sister asked me to do this prompt: "This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you've ever had. Of course I'm in."**

**The Story Behind Joe's Wrecked Car**

Joe's birthday was coming up soon and Barry was still trying to find the perfect present for his foster father. Most of the time, him and Iris would scrape their money together when they had picked out a particular expensive gift. This year however, Iris had already gotten her father a "World's Greatest Dad" mug and Barry – well, was still searching. He'd gone through some very frustrating months (in which failing his driving test for a second time had played a big role in that) and Joe had been as patient and supportive as ever; Barry just felt like he owed it to Joe to get him something special for his birthday. And he had only ten more days to come up with an idea that was not totally lame... Sighing, Barry turned his attention back to his English homework, while Iris was already eagerly working on hers – he couldn't help but admire his best friend's ability to put down her thoughts quickly and articulately. Barry always took forever to bring his convoluted thoughts in order... – suddenly, a name in the 'Arts and Entertainment' section of the newspaper that was lying spread out next to him caught his eye, distracting Barry from wondering why he was always having a hard time to concentrate...

An awful plan already took shape in his mind:

"Iris," his best friend looked up from her essay with squinted eyes, already expecting the worst judging from the way he had said her name, "I'm gonna need your help with a really terrible idea."

* * *

"Okay, let me get this straight: you want me to drive you to Keystone this night, so you can go to this jazz club they most likely won't let you in, so you can get an autograph from that -whathisname again- for my dad's birthday?" Iris recapped, looking at Barry with a disbelieving look on her face.

"Charles 'Blind Buddy' Holden*," Barry supplied helpfully, then proceeded to rub the back of his neck nervously, sporting a sheepish smile "and – yeah."

Iris shook her head fondly: "This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you've ever had," Barry's shoulder sagged, the smile slipping off his face, "of course I'm in."

"Really?"

Iris giggled when she saw that adorable, hopeful smile on her best friend's face: "If anything goes wrong though, you'll have to buy me coffee for a month."

* * *

"I can't believe it actually all worked out," Barry admitted flabbergasted, when Iris and him were on their way back to Central City, hoping to arrive there just in time before Joe's return from his late shift.

"You're lucky that you know me," Iris joked, still giddy from their adventure. Barry grimaced painfully. It was great that they had been let into jazz club to collect that autograph and all that, but he could not share Iris's amusement that it had only happened after she had joined Barry in his plea to get inside... He really hadn't liked the look on that bouncer's face...

Before Barry had a chance to mull over that any further, the sudden shadow of an animal crossing the street right in front of them startled both him and Iris out of their thoughts. Iris swerved and-

"I guess I owe you a lot of coffee now, huh?"

**Fin.**

* * *

*** Charles"Blind Buddy" Holden was a jazz musician whose murder Batman investigated in Batman Vol. 1 #224, written by Dennis O'Neil. I had no idea which jazz musician Joe would be a fan of since I don't know too much about jazz music, so I decided to go with a musician from the comics instead ^^;**

**I've wanted to write about Barry and Iris taking Joe's car for a joyride ever since I watched 2x09 again. They don't really strike me as the kind of kids who would do something like that just because of teenage recklessness. But I never had enough info collected to write a full-length story about it, but now that a drabble with a really stupid idea was requested, I thought it would be fun to bring in my thoughts on that matter.**

**What do you guys think?**


	19. Parents Visitation Day

**Thanks, TheFlashFanatic13, for sending me this fun prompt: "Don and Dawn think power rangers are superheroes to them and Barry is upset but Iris is giggling"... It turned into a bit more than a drabble (oops) and after looking up Power Rangers (because I really just knew the name and that they wear differently colored costumes) I got really confused by all those different versions (there are 21 seasons and about 18 different versions! I think that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were on when I was a kid... I don't know) - so I just kinda scratched the surface of that, sorry ^^; Also, this is my first time writing Don and Dawn :)**

**Parents Visitation Day**

There was always a big hustle and bustle in the West-Allen household in the mornings, but it was particularly chaotic on this specific day: Parents Visitation Day at Don and Dawn's school. Don was zipping around looking for his blue crayon insisting that he would definitely need it for today and when Iris suggested he could certainly borrow his sister's crayon, he responded with a huff, explaining that Dawn was always taking forever coloring and with his luck, she would need the same color as him. His sister didn't appreciate that comment too much and started a tickle fight, which almost caused the whole family to be late for school.

(At least, Don had found his crayon right before the entire family set out for Central City Elementary School together; he'd caught a glimpse of it when Dawn had pinned him to the ground, merciless in her warfare – how the crayon had ended up under the couch,though, nobody knew).

* * *

When they arrived at the school grounds, children and parents split – the twins were off to their classroom for their first lesson and Barry and Iris met up with the other parents in the assembly hall. There was a short speech by the principal who thanked the parents for coming, followed by a tour. After being shown round the cafeteria, library and so on, the adults were finally led to their children's classrooms. There were chairs in the back of the classroom for the parents; when Barry and Iris crossed the room to take a seat, Dawn gave them a small wave, elbowing her brother to do the same. The boy rolled his eyes at his twin, but complied nonetheless.

The teacher, Mr. Jones, introduced himself to the parents and gave a short overview of what the students had been learning recently. It was almost the end of their English lesson and the kids were eager to showcase the new words they had learned to spell. Barry and Iris exchanged proud glances when Don and Dawn spelled the words 'citizen' and 'holiday' flawlessly.

The next subject was art. All children and parents got handed out a white sheet of paper (because they didn't have any art supplies of their own, the adults also got a few boxes filled with old, used pencils and crayons the teacher kept ready in case one of his students forgot to bring theirs). Mr. Jones then announced this lesson's topic: "I want all of you – and yes, that does include you too, parents -" he added, earning himself a chuckle from both parents and children, "to draw your hero." (Iris and Barry exchanged amused looks.) "Your hero – or heroes – can be from a cartoon or a comic book or real life; he or she doesn't have to run around in masks to count as a hero – it should just be someone you look up to and who you admire."

The kids got to work eagerly, while most of the adults were slightly less enthusiastic. Barry and Iris on the other hand just exchanged a quick, telling look before fighting silently over the less shabby pencils, then passed on the box to the parents next to them, who threw incredulous glances in their direction. Soon silence befell the classroom, with only the scratching of pencils on paper and whispered exchanges disrupting the quiet concentration that had everyone in its spell.

40 minutes later, Iris felt Barry nudging her. She looked up from her own art project with an impish grin on her face and looked over to her husband. Barry smiled at her widely, proudly presenting her with his drawing. Iris's heart fluttered. She sometimes forgot how ridiculously multi-talented her favorite nerd was and how skilled he was with a pencil. He had drawn a portrait of her, and a very good one, too (even without the help of super speed to complete it in such a short time) and had scribbled 'my greatest hero' in big, clumsy letters (how Barry could easily draw incredibly detailed pictures and yet have such a scrawly, almost unreadable handwriting was beyond Iris).

It almost made Iris feel guilty about her own drawing. Almost.

"Great minds think alike," she said in a low voice so as not to draw attention to the two of them, then showed her husband her sketch. The wide grin on Barry's face soon turned into a frown.

"Oh come on, I'm not – I'm sure _**the Flash**_ is not that gangly," he complained, pouting.

Iris stifled a laugh; they were in a room filled with second graders – and the biggest petulant child in here was still Barry, sulking like a 5-year-old.

"Oh how would you know? I'm the one who met up with the Flash for a few interviews; I think I portrayed him pretty accurately," Iris whispered in a teasing tone.

"I think you have forgotten something," Barry declared, then quickly (maybe a little too quickly) scribbled another figure on the sheet. The addendum to Iris's illustration looked a lot like Iris herself in what she would call her "journalism power outfit", in front of vague shapes that probably meant to indicate a skyscraper of some sort, apparently free falling, a row of strange peaks next to her mouth – Iris then realized that those 'peaks' were actually supposed to be 'AAAA's.

"Hey," the journalist protested, still whispering, "that happened only like... five times." Iris could see the smirk creeping up on Barry's face. She raised her own, black pencil threateningly but when it hovered above his drawing Iris couldn't bring herself to ruin it (damn him for being so good at almost everything); instead she put a big jagged line right across Barry's left forearm.

Barry stared at his wife disbelievingly.

"Very mature," he remarked dryly. His incredulous look soon turned into a wicked one. Before he got a chance to retaliate, the school bell rang, announcing that the lesson was over.

Only now did Barry and Iris notice that the mother sitting next to Iris was holding the box with the school's pencils to them, eyeing the couple incredulously. Blushing, Iris took the box and put her and Barry's pencils back into it, while Barry was furiously rubbing his arm in an attempt to remove the prominent mark Iris had left on his forearm. In the end, he just rolled down his sleeves, exchanging a sheepish look with his wife.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jones announced that after the 20-minutes-break, they were going to tackle Mathematics (which elicited unhappy groans from the kids – followed by incomprehensible mumble by their parents when Mr. Jones added that he would test the adults as well). The teacher then dismissed the class.

Don and Dawn quickly got up, excitedly chatting with a few of their friends. Barry and Iris rose from their chairs as well, waiting until the lady with the judgmental look had moved past them, then headed towards their kids. They passed by the twins' seats and of course Barry couldn't help but steal a glance at their drawings. The motif was not what he expected it to be, though. Iris bumped into Barry, who had come to a sudden stop, then slowly sat down on one of the tiny chairs to get a better look at the drawings (which looked really funny considering Barry's long limbs and the chairs being so small that his knees almost went up to his ears), first staring at Don's picture, then directing his disbelieving look at his daughter's drawing.

"Barry?" Iris asked, confused by his behavior. Her husband picked up Dawn's picture and showed it to her: The drawing showed a group of colorfully dressed superheroes, though not who Iris would have expected. From all the heroes their kids could have chosen from – they both had decided to draw the Power Rangers! Iris's initial surprise was soon replaced by utter amusement.

"I've never felt so betrayed in my life," Barry said, staring at the paper with a thunderstruck expression.

"Mom, Dad, come on – we've got recess now!" Don and Dawn reminded their parents, already waiting at the door.

Barry set his daughter's drawing down, still stupefied.

Iris couldn't hold in her giggle any longer. She kissed her husband's cheek, then pulled him up from the tiny chair. Still laughing, she rubbed off the mark her lipstick had left on Barry's face in a loving gesture:

"Aww, at least you're still my hero."

**Fin.**

* * *

**Sorry that it took me so long to write this; I got distracted by a) my exams and most importantly b) my research concerning the American school system (it's just very interesting to learn all about these small and big differences in the school systems... on the other hand I shouldn't be so surprised - the school systems in the federal states of Germany alone vary vastly from one another). Spelling bees are paricularly fascinating to me, like, there is a special competition just about how to write a word correctly? And it seems kind of unfair that you have to spell it aloud - written down, you can often tell that you have made a mistake and can correct it before anyone has to see... what's up with that unnecessary pressure?  
**

**Anyway, tomorrow is my last exam and then I'm free! I'll try to update Loveable Nerds and Superheroes II (I already have some fun Cisco-parts sketched out) and I'll try to finish up Rush Hour... I won't be able to upload anything in two weeks though (yay for one week of vacation; boo for having lousy to none Internet), so feel free to send me drabble prompts! I'll try to finish and upload as many as possible before my vacation and I can work on them during my free time :)**


	20. Two Kinds of Insomnia

**Exams are over! Before I can focus on finishing up chapter 3 of 'Loveable Nerds and Superheroes II', I had to write this story down... It's been on my mind ever since I have read the poem featured in it :)  
**

**Two Kinds of Insomnia**

Iris was passing the desks of her colleagues at CCPN for the fourth time to get herself a coffee refill. Most of her fellow journalists didn't even bother to look up anymore (by now, Iris's caffeine addiction had been widely known), only the new intern stared at Iris disbelievingly and of course Carolyn from the health and medicine section couldn't refrain from clicking her tongue in a disapproving manner, while demonstratively sipping herbal tea from her own mug. Iris couldn't care less. She was sleep-deprived and needed some fuel to get her article done and the next caffeine fix should just last long enough for her to finish it. Also, Iris's excessive consumption of coffee today was mostly to blame on Barry anyhow. His "other" job had been really busy as of late, which not only meant that Iris's fiancé had less time to spend with her, but also forced Iris as CCPN's Flash-expert to put in more hours at work to cover the heroics dealt out by Central City's very own superhero... Bottom line: both Barry and Iris felt like there simply weren't enough hours in the day for them to enjoy their togetherness. So if daytime wasn't providing the necessary hours, nighttime had to do. Not that the two of them talking through most of the night was anything new (since always, they had spent a lot of nights talking about anything and everything; first during their teenage years, on the couch at the West's home while Barry had been living with Iris and her dad, then on their separate beds via phone and Skype when they had attended different colleges), but the amount of sleepless hours was piling up and if Iris wasn't going to catch some Zzs any time soon, she might actually fall asleep standing up.

An hour later, Iris left work early after handing in her finished article, more than ready to take a long nap – only to find Barry sprawled on their bed in the bedroom, lightly snoring. A fond smile stole across her lips. Kicking off her shoes, Iris climbed into bed, nestling up against Barry's side. She immediately fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

_**When I'm with you, we stay up all night.**_

_**When you're not here, I can't go to sleep.**_

Another yawn escaped Iris's lips while she was waiting in line at Jitters to grab her usual (a café americano) before heading over to CCPN to write her newest piece about homeless veterans. She had spent many days doing research and conducting interviews, which was already exhausting on its own, but the fact that Iris hadn't been able to sleep for the past two days had the journalist feeling more worn out than ever. Thing was, Barry was currently away on a League mission – a crazy and dangerous one, as far as Iris could tell (something about saving a guy named like a Midsummer Night's Dream character from the clutches of some evil Granny on a far away planet with the ominous name of Apokolips; the details Barry had given her before departing had been too bizarre to even question) – and she simply couldn't go to sleep without Barry by her side. She had tried everything: Valerian tea, calming music, no electronic devices an hour before going to bed, no coffee after 5 p.m. (which had been by far the most difficult one to implement), breathing exercises – nothing would work. Her mind would just drift to the person who was supposed to occupy the empty space right next to her in bed and who was instead on another planet, in another solar system, risking his life to save another. Hugging his pillow to her chest, burying her nose in it, soaking up the familiar and comforting scent that was just _Barry_ had helped easing Iris into a doze after hours of tossing and turning, but it wasn't enough for a real, satisfying sleep – she was missing his warmth, the quick but steady beating of his heart underneath her fingers, the way he would nuzzle his face into her hair while mumbling unintelligible words under his breath... The barista's cheerful "Hi, what can I get you?" startled Iris out of her thoughts, back into reality. After getting her much-needed coffee-fix, Iris went back to work.

* * *

It was 2 a.m. and Iris was still lying awake, unable to sleep. The journalist had finished her article successfully and her editor had been thoroughly impressed and happy with her piece, saving Iris the trouble of having to revise it multiple times or having to argue about certain passages. She was dead tired, but her mind was racing, thinking and worrying about Barry.

Iris was just considering switching the light back on to distract herself by reading a little, when the familiar sound of crackling electricity and welcome gust of wind made that contemplation redundant.

"Hey," Iris whispered happily, getting a good look at Barry's smiling face before she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She could hear Barry carelessly tossing the suit on the floor (he'd probably get an earful from Cisco later for that) before he crawled into bed, to his spot right next to her, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"Hey," he whispered back, planting another chaste kiss on Iris's nose, "sorry it took me so long. The mission was positively crazy." He brushed a strand of hair out of Iris's face, while Iris relished the gentle caress of his fingers, wrapping her arms tighter around Barry's middle, "I missed you so much."

Iris barely managed to hum a response, the soothing and familiar tha-thump of Barry's heartbeat already lulling her to sleep. Of course, Iris wanted to know all about his adventure across the cosmos, but she also knew that there were plenty more nights ahead of them they could talk right through – for now, all that mattered was that Barry was here, safe and sound, in her arms.

_**Praise God for these two insomnias!**_

_**And the difference between them.**_

**Fin.**

* * *

**I read this poem by Rumi and couldn't help but think of Westallen :)  
**

**The Justice League mission mentioned is actually an episode from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, 2x02 'The Ties That Bind' (Flash - Wally in this version - goes to Apokolips to help Mister Miracle and Big Barda free Oberon from Granny Goodness) - it's a very cool episode ^^**


	21. Happy Halloween

**Hi there! Sorry that it took me so long to finally resurface ^^; I started this particular story a year ago last Halloween and of course didn't get even close to finishing it on time... so I decided to put it off until this year (only to finish it barely after midnight local time which actually means I didn't even get this donw properly but oh well)... I drew a picture for this story last year (http :[double slash] .com [slash] post [slash] 132273479147 [slash]happy-halloween-here-some-little-barry-and-iris )**

**I hope you'll like it :)**

**Happy Halloween**

"C'mon, Iris! Cisco is going to be so mad if we're gonna be late for his Halloween party!" Barry shouted from the living room, impatiently pacing back and forth, while Iris was still in the bedroom of their newly shared apartment.

"You can't rush perfection," came the prompt reply. "Also, not all of us have super speed to get ready for the party... I'll be done in a minute, I swear."

Barry sighed and plopped down on the sofa. He really wasn't in a place to complain; he had arrived home merely five minutes ago in contrast to Iris's fifteen – if he hadn't 'cheated' (as Iris sometimes would call it jokingly whenever he was using his speed to complete ordinary tasks that would otherwise take him much longer – like washing the dishes for example), he wouldn't be ready yet himself.

Speaking of using his super speed – apparently in his hurry, Barry had also caused a picture frame on the book shelf to fall down. It was now lying precariously close to the edge, the photo facing down. The speedster went over to the book shelf to put the frame in its rightful place. Barry paused when he saw which photograph it was, the corners of his mouth curling into a small smile.

The picture had been taken on a Halloween many years ago, the year before his mother's death.

* * *

Iris had managed to hone her puppy dog pout to complete perfection and had finally succeeded in persuading 9-year-old him to dress up as the '_B_arry Potter' to her Hermione for trick or treating (she had wanted them to do that since she had read the first volume of the book series). The past two years, Barry had persistently resisted her 'arguments' that had ranged from "you basically already have the name – kinda – " to "you got the green eyes, Bear! All you have to do is put on some fake glasses, draw a lightning bolt-shaped scar on your forehead and you're good to go!". When he had pointed out that his hair wasn't black at all and he had no intention to change that in any way, Iris had dismissed that quickly. "The glasses and the scar are the most important features, Bear," his best friend had explained. "Though your hair could be a bit messier", she had added with a wide grin, ruffling his hair playfully. But he had just swatted her hand away (and kept on ignoring the strange fluttering feeling in the bottom of his stomach that had come up – maybe he was catching a cold? Later on he had realized that he had just caught the greatest case of the feels ever. But that wasn't until months had passed) and repeated that he would not do it.

In the end, his ultimate 'Get Out of Jail Free Card' had always been the fact that they had nobody to go as Ron Weasley with them and why in the world would the inseparable trio – well – separate?

The year the picture had been taken Iris had finally had a valid argument for that. '_**The Prisoner of Askaban**_' had just been released the same year and Hermione and Harry had time-traveled to save Sirius (and Buckbeak)... _without_ Ron.

"Come on, Bear! Just look at it like another time-travel adventure!" Iris had exclaimed happily, knowing that she was now a lot closer to finally getting Barry to cave in.

"Pleeeaaase?" She had asked in the sweetest voice, armed with the most powerful version of a pout that any none-puppy could actually muster. Barry hadn't stood the slightest chance (funny how some things never changed).

He had begrudgingly given in and was nearly crushed to pieces by Iris's hug. Then she had pulled out a list from her backpack with everything they would need for their costumes (as it turned out, Iris had created that list the very first year she had tried to persuade him of her plan and had updated it ever since, in greatest confidence that she would succeed someday) and gone over it with him.

Iris had already bought a hat for herself and lenseless glasses for Barry; and they both already had wands. All they needed were wizard robes (because their makeshift bathrobes would be quite embarrassing to wear outside of the house, they both agreed).

Lucky for them, Mrs Kowalski – an elderly lady that had lived next door to Barry – had offered to sew cloaks for them both (she had worked as a seamstress many years ago) after she had overheard Iris and Barry worrying about this part of their plan when she had been over for a cup of tea with Nora. (Barry remembered how Mrs Kowalski had always brought over some kind of cake or pie when she visited them – she had also been quite the baker; his mom had once explained to him that their neighbor's children all lived far away from her and therefore, she was often quite lonely, especially since her husband had died two years ago. That was why his mother liked to invite the old lady over for some coffee or tea. Also, Mrs Kowalski had the most interesting stories to tell, which was why Barry – and occasionally Iris as well – would sometimes keep the two adults company.)

Because of Iris's well-thought-out preparations, all that was left for her and Barry to do was spending one afternoon over at Mrs Kowalski's house to have their measurements taken for the robes. It had been the first time either of them had been inside Chestnut Street No. 5 and Barry still remembered that the entire house had been filled with a heavenly smell (the old lady had baked something delicious for them though he could not recall what) and many interesting knick-knacks and doodats (for example, there was a real sword hanging on the sewing room wall – Mrs Kowalski's late husband had made it himself and it looked like right out of a movie).

Iris had shown the kind old lady her pretty elaborate sketches of the robes she had imagined for Barry and her to wear, as well as producing two self-made patches with a Gryffindor insignia on it (impressing Barry with her sense for detail). They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about anything and everything with Mrs Kowalski, eating whatever delightful pastry Barry's nice neighbor had baked. When it had been time for the kids to go home for dinner, Mrs Kowalski had (pinky) promised them that their robes would be ready when they were to set out for trick or treating.

The old lady had kept her promise and on Halloween afternoon, Barry and Iris were dressed up in the most wonderful black robes with red lapels and awesome Gryffindor insignia, armed with their wands and bags for their candy, waiting impatiently for Iris's dad to pick them up from Barry's house to haunt the neighborhood.

"Aww look at you two, you look great," Barry's mom had complimented them, smiling brightly. "But aren't you going to be cold?" She had asked worriedly, exchanging a conspiratorial look with her husband who simply grinned and left for the living room.

"Mooom," Barry had groaned exasperatedly (although he had wondered the same – the temperature had dropped significantly in the last few days).

"We're gonna be fine, Nora, promise," Iris had assured, jokingly adding: "If we get really cold, I'll conjure up a small fire – Hermione can do that."

"I'm sure she can," Nora had laughed, "but I thought that these might would help, too-" and following these words, Henry returned, two red-and-yellow striped scarves in his hands.

"You made us Gryffindor scarves?" Barry had asked, completely dumbfounded.

Nora had nodded affirmatively, turning towards Iris: "I hope they are up to your standards; I should have asked you for advice but I wanted it to be a surprise-" before Barry's mom could say any more, Iris had already hugged her tightly.

"I think that answers your doubts," Henry had joked, watching the girl entangle herself from his wife while his son observed the spectacle with a wide smile on his face.

Iris had accepted her scarf with a blush, wrapping it around her neck with a beaming smile: "Thank you so much. The scarves are perfect."

"Aww, you're welcome, Iris," Nora had replied, readjusting the scarf Barry had sloppily put around his neck, when someone (Joe) had knocked on the door,

"Have fun you two."

* * *

"I'm so sorry I kept you waiting for so long," Iris's voice brought Barry back from his trip down memory lane.

"Huh?" He muttered unintelligibly, putting the frame back on its place on the shelf.

"I said that I was sorry for making you wait for so long," Iris reiterated, peeking over Barry's shoulder, "what were you looking at?-

Oh, I remember that Halloween," she said brightly, "definitely our best year of trick or treating – although I felt so sick the following day because of all that candy. Totally worth it, though. And our costumes were amazing."

"Well," Barry said playfully, having finally taken the time to fully take in Iris in her costumed glory, "your costume this year is also pretty nice."

Iris beamed up at him, "aww thanks, Bear," she said, blushing. Soon, her smile turned into a more flirtatious one, "you don't look so bad yourself.

– But I think we really should get going," she added, realizing that they were getting awfully close to a point where they wouldn't be leaving their apartment any time soon.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Barry agreed, a little flustered, "let's go."

They headed for the wardrobe to put on their coats.

"Wait, I have a little surprise I just found in the last of our moving boxes," Iris said excitedly, right before they were about to step out.

"Surprise?" Barry asked incredulously, watching Iris pulling something out of the drawer of the bureau.

"Here," Iris announced with a wide grin, producing with a fancy flourish-

"You found the Gryffindor scarves?!" Barry said, baffled.

"Yup," Iris laughed, draping her own scarf around her neck before affectionately wrapping Barry's scarf around his neck, "I thought it would be very fitting if we wore them on this first cold night on Halloween." She tugged at the end of the scarf playfully, before pressing a gentle kiss on his mouth.

"**Now** we're ready to go."

**Fin.**

* * *

**I literally just finished it, so I'm very sorry if there are many spelling errors or grammatical mistakes... tell me if you find some so I can correct them :)  
**

**Also, feel free to leave a comment on how you liked this chapter ;)**


	22. Rainy Days

**Hey there, I'm back with another meet-cute AU :) Just kinda noticed that I hadn't written much of those lately (not that I've been writing particularly much recently, but I am working on my projects, new and in-progress, I swear) and here it is! I hope you're gonna like it; enjoy!  
**

**Rainy Days**

Iris West was standing at the bus stop, sending a warning glare towards the very dark, very cloudy sky. "Don't you dare raining today," she muttered under her breath, feeling both irritated and anxious. Today was the day of Iris's first big assignment as a journalist of Central City Picture News. She had started out as a mere intern, her main task getting the 'real' journalists of CCPN their coffees and – yeah, that pretty much had been it (after all, people were busy and couldn't be bothered to answer the trivial questions of an_ intern_). They soon found out that Iris wasn't one to back down; she had annoyed the heck out of the staff by pestering them with questions (well-thought-out, important questions, mind you, while also being mindful enough not to keep anyone from getting their job done in addition to carrying out the tasks assigned to her – like getting coffee and files). In the end, her "pesky behavior" – as Iris's mentor Mason Bridge liked to call it– paid off: after her internship Iris got offered a job at CCPN. She had spent the first months of her employment writing small stuff for whenever the newspaper needed a filler article and while that on its own was often very frustrating and unrewarding, Iris was determined to make use of every chance she got offered to prove her worth. And now that she had finally been assigned a real story (covering the re-election of Mayor Bellows), she was at risk of looking like a drowned rat by the time she was going to arrive at City Hall – because Iris had forgotten to pack an umbrella.

"Stupid weather," the journalist growled lowly, angry at herself for being ill-prepared and angry at those dark gray, water-heavy clouds above her head that had turned up without so much as a warning (yesterday's weather forecast hadn't mentioned stupid rain at all).

A single rain drop landed on Iris's nose.

"Shit."

Before the drizzle could turn into a full-fledged rain shower, the bus that was to take Iris to the city center turned into the street and came to a halt. The journalist hastily got on the bus. As soon as she had hopped on board, the rain was coming down in buckets.

'Okay... maybe the rain is going to ebb down before I have to get off... or it's just a shower and will stop soon altogether,' Iris reasoned, trying to think positively. The rain drops drummed with even more force and a more erratic rhythm against the bus windows.

Low-spirited, Iris sank deeper and deeper into her seat close to the door, carefully avoiding the drenched people boarding the bus and the dripping wet umbrellas that were hauled around (not that her effort to stay dry would matter later when she was going to get off her destination, she realized grimly).

* * *

Her final bus stop was on next and it was still raining like crazy. Sighing, Iris gathered her bag (glad that it was water-proof bag and could be zipped closed; at least her notes weren't going to get wet), maneuvering around rain jackets (of the prepared) as well as damp arms and dripping hair (of the unprepared). Iris stood at the door, waiting for the bus to come to a full stop, a (dry) tall young man next to her. He was clutching a big red umbrella close to his body, the water running down the umbrella dripping down on his worn out sneakers.

"That horrific weather really came out of nowhere today, huh?" He said conversationally, giving Iris a bashful smile.

"Mhm," was all the response Iris could muster, pulling her face into an expression that must have come across as a pained smile, because immediately after that, the stranger examined her more thoroughly, suddenly becoming aware of Iris's lack of protection from the elements.

"Oh," he began apologetically, realizing his blunder. Before he could say any more, the bus doors opened.

Taking a deep breath, Iris hopped off the bus, barely navigating around the big puddle awaiting her outside. The first few rain drops were hitting her hair and skin, big and cool and wet.

She heard an umbrella pop open behind her. The sound was followed by a nervous, "um, hey, excuse me?"

Iris turned around, seeing the tall young man who had tried to strike up a conversation with her, smiling sheepishly. Iris noticed that he was currently holding the big, red umbrella very awkwardly in a sweet attempt at covering them both from the cascades of rain still coming down from the heavens, despite them standing fairly far apart.

"Yeah?" Iris asked, taking a step closer to the stranger, so he could at least get a more comfortable grip.

"Um," he muttered, a faint blush blossoming on his face.

Iris couldn't help but notice that he was kind of cute, with his boyish looks and pretty green eyes, framed by unfairly long lashes.

But no matter how cute the guy was, Iris had a conference to get to and the sooner she made her way to City Hall, the more likely was she going to have a chance of getting herself at least decently dry before Bellows was going to make his speech.

"Yeah?" she repeated, with a little more urgency this time.

"Oh um, I'm sorry for – I didn't realize..." Umbrella-dude was gesticulating frantically, stumbling over his words.

"It's okay," Iris reassured him, strangely touched by his awkward stammering. "Not all of us can be perfect boy scouts," she added teasingly, nodding at his umbrella, "always prepared, huh?"

The guy gave Iris a bright smile, ducking his head shyly. Gosh, he **really** was cute. And Iris **really** needed to get going.

"Well, um, I've got to go... I have to get to City Hall for the press conference and well, I'm from the press, so... Wouldn't want to mess up my first big assignment, right?" Oh God, why was she babbling like a complete idiot now?!

"Oh yeah, of course, I didn't mean to keep you, sorry," Boy Scout started gesticulating wildly again. "Oh, and here, take this," he added as an afterthought, practically shoving his umbrella into her hands.

Iris dumbly stared at the umbrella in her hand, then at the guy who had given it to her, before she finally finding her voice again: "What? No, I couldn't-"

But Boy Scout simply waved her protest aside: "It's no big deal, really. I just have, like, two blocks ahead of me and then I'll be safe at work, so no problem," he gave Iris a reassuring smile, before hastily adding: "Oh and good luck with your assignment, I'm sure you're gonna do great, bye!"

And with that, he turned around, hurrying down the street

Iris kept staring at his retreating figure, completely befuddled. The rain was still pouring down like crazy, drumming angrily on the bright red fabric of Boy Scout's umbrella. Iris couldn't fight the wide smile forming on her face, the realization of what had just happened slowly sinking in.

It took her a few minutes until she finally snapped out of her reverie and made her way to City Hall.

* * *

The following Tuesday was yet another rainy day. It was 7 p.m. and someone with a bright red umbrella was standing on the front porch of the West-Family-Home.

The door opened and Detective Joe West appeared in the doorway, smiling at his visitor: "Oh man, it's really coming down this week, isn't it? Come in, baby."

Iris gave her father a bright smile, always happy to see him for their weekly family dinner.

She entered the house, closing the umbrella she had been carrying around with her ever since a cute, adorable stranger had given it to her in time of need, putting it in the umbrella stand right by the front door. The journalist would never have admitted it out loud, but she had actually considered trying to find Boy Scout again. Unfortunately, she didn't have too many clues to go from: all she knew was that he had a job somewhere close to City Hall and that his first name probably began with either a "B" or a "D" and that his surname was something like "Allan" or "Allen" (at least that is what she could make out from that sloppy scrawl on the umbrella's tag). Iris knew that a Google search could probably help her out a lot, but it felt like a creepy thing to do (not that spending almost half an hour trying to decipher almost illegible handwriting wasn't any less creepy or pathetic). But Iris wasn't **that** desperate. At least not yet.

The heavenly smell of her dad's homemade lasagna that wafted from the kitchen, as well as the clamorous arrival of Wally, who had still been out due to one of his later college classes, startled Iris out of her musings. With her energetic little brother in the house, the evening immediately turned into an endless string of teasing and joking around, effectively distracting Iris from her thoughts about tall cute strangers with pretty eyes.

Funnily enough, it was her Dad that brought (albeit unknowingly) Boy Scout back to Iris's attention, when he began telling a story about "that tardy CSI Allen-kid" during dessert.

Iris perked up her ears: "Allen-kid?"

Only now did the journalist realize that her father's precinct was pretty much about two blocks away from the bus stop she had met her Boy Scout at...

_**If this "Allen-kid"'s first name now started with either a "B" or "D"-**_

"Barry Allen."

_**Jackpot.**_

"The kid's a brilliant forensic scientist but heaven forbid he actually arrives at the precinct or a crime scene on time! That tardiness of his drives Singh absolutely mad... Last Wednesday Allen arrived fifteen minutes late, completely drenched from the rain, looking like he had swum to work or something," Joe was about to conclude his story, before adding, incredulously: "He was in a surprisingly great mood though."

"Huh, weird." Iris remarked casually, eyes trained solely on the cherry in her fruit salad she was about to spear with her fork, hoping that her dad and brother weren't able to notice the blush she was fighting off.

* * *

Next day, during her lunch break, Iris gathered up her courage and Barry Allen's red umbrella and made her way to the CCPD. She was greeted by a few officers of the precinct and asked her way to the CSI lab upstairs while making sure to avoid her dad (Iris wasn't naive enough to think that she could outsmart **the** Detective West; and she wasn't ready to face the interrogation that would undoubtedly follow revealing the reason why she was actually dropping by; she was nervous enough at it was).

It didn't take the journalist long to climb the stairs that led her to the open door of the crime lab. Iris peeked inside to find her Boy Scout – Barry Allen – seated by a desk, studying something under a microscope.

Taking in a deep breath, Iris knocked on the metal door and carefully enter the room with an upbeat "Hi!"

The forensic scientist's head snapped up from the ocular, green eyes widening with surprise as they took her in.

"Oh... Hi." The CSI greeted her, blinking furiously like he couldn't really believe she was actually there. "How come... So, you just happened to... Um... You're here. In my lab." He spluttered nervously, clambering to his feet.

Iris couldn't help her cheeky reply: "A very astute observation, CSI Allen."

The scientist blushed furiously.

"It's just... I didn't expect you to turn up here – though it's nice to see you! And, um, what brings you here?"

Iris was amused to see him gesticulating wildly again; the way he was talking with his hands was kind of endearing: "Just wanted to return your umbrella – thank you so much for lending it to me," she smiled up brightly at him (he was really tall), while handing over the umbrella, "you really saved my day."

The CSI blushed slightly, dismissively waving his empty hand: "It was nothing, really."

He eyed her curiously, "You could have kept it, I didn't expect you to give it back – hey, how did you find me, anyway?"

Iris couldn't fight the grin blossoming on her face: "I'm a journalist, remember? Also, you **did** write your name on the tag, so that certainly helped."

The look on the scientist's face was absolutely priceless.

"Oh right... you could read that?"

Iris couldn't help but laugh at his obvious surprise: "Just barely. I pity the poor detectives that actually have to decipher your reports."

"It's a daily struggle," the CSI replied gravely, the apparent smile tugging at the corner of his lips betraying the (fake-)serious tone in his voice.

"I can imagine – I wasn't sure if that first initial was supposed to be a "B" or an "D"..."

The forensic scientist looked at Iris in amazement: "And you figured out who I was and where to find me simply from my nearly illegible scrawl?"

"Not quite," Iris admitted, " I had figured out your last name and then my dad actually mentioned your name during dinner yesterday – he's a cop," Iris explained, " and I realized that the precinct is about two blocks away from the bus station – so here I am."

"Oh..." Boy Scout muttered under his breath, concentrated look on his face, "- so you're Detective West's daughter?"

"That I am," Iris confirmed laughingly, holding out her hand for him to shake, "great solve, CSI Allen."

He went along with her gesture, assuring her that "Barry works just fine."

The journalist nodded in acknowledgment, then introduced herself as "Iris."

"So, you really just came by to return the umbrella, or...?"

This time it was Iris's turn to blush. "I don't know..." She averted her eyes, unable to bring herself to meet his – she hadn't really dared to figure out why she had so desperately wanted to return that umbrella to Boy Scout – Barry – in person...

Iris just now became acutely aware of how ridiculous her plan (if you could even call it a plan) had been: all it had accomplished was that she had utterly embarrassed herself in front of a guy who just was sincerely nice...-

"I read your article."

"Huh?" Iris said unintelligibly, raising her gaze to look at a sheepishly looking Barry Allen.

"I read your article," he repeated, nervously rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, " I mean, I didn't know your name yet, so I just read about every article that covered Bellows' re-election; and in case I didn't read it, I certainly will look it up now – but I really wanted to read your article."

He looked so nervous, wringing the umbrella he was still holding with fumbling hands while also wearing a tentative, hopeful expression on his face. Iris's heart fluttered at the sight.

"That's really sweet of you."

"Yeah?" The CSI asked tentatively, a small smile stealing its way unto his face before he ducked his head again, slightly blushing

Gosh, Barry Allen really was just too adorable for his own good...

Iris had an idea: "Hey, I was going to go grab some lunch before I have to head back to the CCPN... Do you wanna join me?

Her question was met with a beaming smile by Barry: "That actually sounds really great."

He quickly grabbed the jacket that was draped over the chair by his desk, shrugging it on. The two of them were just turning around to leave, when the sudden sound of rain pelting against the lab windows caught both their attention.

Another unexpected rain shower.

Incredulous, Iris stared at the window: "Unbelievable."

"I guess you didn't bring another umbrella?" Barry asked teasingly, before offering: "We can share mine."

Iris smiled. It felt kinda appropriate.

"Sounds like a plan," she said happily, giving Barry's arm a brief tug, ready to head out: "let's go then."

**Fin.**

* * *

**I'm almost finished with another story (it involves Grandma Esther's ugly sweater again ^^), so another chapter should be uploaded soon :)  
**

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**


	23. Grandma Esther's Ugly Sweater

**Hi there! Another story featuring Grandma Esther's ugly sweater :) I hope you'll like it!**

**The Story Behind Grandma Esther's Ugly Sweater**

"There, all done," Barry announced proudly, the final shelf assembled and filled with his and Iris's books (even arranged in the way she always stubbornly insisted on, Iris noticed with a small smile). For the past half hour Iris had spent her time watching her husband putting together their living room furniture and unpacking the last of their belongings.

Iris lifted up her legs long enough for Barry to plop down next to her, then brought them down again, spreading them across his lap.

The speedster let out an exhausted groan, resting his head on the backrest of the sofa, eyes closed. Iris watched him with a fond smile. Moving into a new place was always connected with a lot of work, but being married to a speedster certainly made the whole ordeal much easier – after only one day, they were already completely settled in. Which also was due to Wally, Cisco and her dad lending a hand earlier in the day (in the time it had taken Iris to unpack the boxes and suitcases of everything belonging into the bedroom, the kitchen, bathroom and most of the living room had been fully furnished). While being busy filling up the dressers and commode in the bedroom, Iris had come across something she had thought long gone.

She had kept waiting until she was finally alone with her husband again to bring up what she had found: "Hey, Bear?"

Completely unaware of what was awaiting him, Barry turned his head towards Iris, opening his eyes just wide enough for him to squint at her: "Mhm?"

"When I was unpacking our stuff in the bedroom, I stumbled upon something very interesting..." Iris paused for dramatic effect, causing Barry to look confused at first – before his eyes widened with alarm.

"How the heck did you sneak **this** into one of our suitcases?" Iris asked disbelievingly, pulling the offending item from behind the pillows she had snuggled into – it was Grandma Esther's ugly sweater.

"After all the moving you've done since Grandma Esther has given you this atrocity – college, your first, absolutely crappy apartment, back home with my dad, your other apartment that turned into our first one and now this," Iris gestured to their newly-furnished living room, sweater still in hand, "I kinda expected you to have 'accidentally misplaced' this by now."

"Aww, come on," Barry said defensively, taking the offending piece of clothing from his wife's hands, "it's got sentimental value."

Iris couldn't help but snort, "Sentimental value? Why, does it remind you of all the times I mercilessly teased you?" She gave Barry an impish smile, "because if it's about that, our tattered board games of _Clue_ and _Scrabble_ should serve the same purpose."  
Barry rolled his eyes in fake annoyance. "Har. Har. Har. No, it's not about the teasing – we both know that you can tease me just fine even without a specific occasion," he replied dryly, causing Iris to stick out her tongue at him. "It's rather about what it meant to me when I got it," Barry continued more seriously, running a long, slim finger across the psychedelic pattern of the sweater.

The earnestness in her husband's voice had Iris sit up more properly, head cocked to the side, intrigued: "What do you mean, Bear?"  
"Well, Grandma Esther gave this to me that first Christmas I spent with you and Joe; the first Christmas after my mom's death," Barry explained with a quiet voice, sending Iris a quick, fleeting smile to let her know he was okay with telling this story. Still, Iris couldn't help herself but put a comforting hand on his forearm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Acknowledging Iris's small gesture with a warm, meaningful glance of his own, Barry continued, his voice steadier than before: "And it was my first family holiday without my parents there with me – aside from that truly disastrous Thanksgiving from that same year where I had really shone with my terrible behavior-"

Shaking her head exasperatedly, Iris couldn't help but interrupt, incredulous how Barry could still beat himself up over a stupid Thanksgiving from _**eighteen years**_ ago: "Oh come on Bear, you had just come back from visiting your dad in prison – of course you were upset and not in the mood for a 'family' dinner without your family..."

But Barry wouldn't let her make any excuses for his behavior back then: "Still, barricading myself in my room – the room I had because Joe had taken me in, given me a place to stay at – was not exactly the best way to show my gratitude on that particular day."

Iris sighed, affectionately running down a hand over her husband's arm: "Oh Bear... you know that neither Dad nor I resented you for that-"

"Of course I know. Heck, I think I even knew it then even if I didn't want to admit it to myself," Barry confessed, "I had always been aware of the kindness you and Joe had shown me by taking me in and caring for me," Barry assured. "Although I didn't always act like it," he added dryly, thinking back to all the yelling and running away both Iris and Joe had had to endure in the very first beginning. "But at times, I just couldn't help but feel that I was intruding into your little family unit-"

"Bear-"

"I know, Iris," Barry cut her off, giving her a reassuring smile, "I know now. I just had to figure it out. And this sweater really had helped with that." He gave Iris a wide grin, enjoying the puzzled expression on her face.

"Let me get this straight: this ugly sweater helped making you feel like less of an intruder?!"

"Sure did," Barry confirmed with a smirk on his face, before elaborating more seriously:

"It was Christmas and Grandma Esther visited again and she brought gifts for all of us: she got Joe this really ugly scarf she'd knitted for him and she got you two pairs of warm, but incredibly hideous, self-made socks-"

"Oh yeah, I actually had asked her to knit me socks – at least you can wear them in public as long as you're wearing boots, **plus **you still have the advantage of warm feet," Iris reminisced, deeply surprised that Barry was still able to remember these Christmas presents from almost twenty years ago.

"Yeah and then I got this very ugly self-knit sweater. In my favorite color, too – because Grandma Esther had actually bothered to ask Joe about it... And that moment really made me realize that, yes, I couldn't spend Christmas with my parents that year – but I still got to celebrate with my family.

So yeah... Grandma Esther's sweater just kinda made it official, y'know?"

Barry shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner, but Iris could tell from the look in his eyes how meaningful this gift actually had been for him.

"Oh God... you're the sweetest idiot I know," she sighed, teary-eyed.

"Great, now I made you cry," Barry observed teasingly while sneaking an arm around his wife's waist and pulling her closer to him, letting his hand rest comfortably on her hip.

"I'm not crying," Iris disagreed, swatting his chest, "my eyes are just watery from the dust you swirled up earlier – that, or I'm allergic to your sentimentality."

Barry couldn't help but chuckle: "I'm pretty sure you're immune to my sentimentality by now..."  
"If I recall correctly, you can still develop an allergy after multiple exposures – what, I really **do** listen to your nerd-talk," Iris said nonchalantly, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck.

"Well, I certainly hope it's not an allergy – you're stuck with me now for the unforeseeable future."

A flirtatious expression appeared on Iris's face.

"Like I said, it could just be all the dust in this room – maybe we should relocate."

Grinning, Barry got up, carrying Iris bridal style: "Maybe we should... I think any whirled-up dust in the bedroom should have settled by now."

**Fin.**

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this little story; I'll try to focus on my stories in-progress now [namely on Loveable Nerds and Superheroes II] though my exams are drawing nearer, but we'll see how it will develop :)  
**

**And a Happy New Year to all of you! :)**


	24. Coming Home

**Hi! I just thought it was time to bring Don and Dawn back for some family fluff ;) Also, I just really love 'Singin' in the Rain' and was delighted to see that it's Barry's go-to feel-good-movie as well, so I had to sneak that in here, too ^^  
**

**Coming Home**

Iris let out a sigh of exhaustion, shuffling up the stairs leading to the very welcoming front door of the West-Allen family home. It had been a looong day. The journalist had been out on an assignment for work the entire day, not only missing out on family dinner but on the twin's bedtime ritual as well. Now, she only wanted to finally crawl into her comfy bed and Barry's warm and strong arms and fall into a deep slumber.

Iris entered silently, quickly getting rid of her shoes and jacket. She quietly made her way to the living room and was met with a sight that lifted her spirits considerably:

Barry, Don and Dawn were all huddled up on the sofa, the three of them enveloped in one big, fuzzy blanket, sound asleep. The kids were cuddled up against either side of their dad, Dawn curled into a tiny ball whereas Don was sprawled all over the place, his feet poking out from under the comforter. Barry was sitting in an almost perfectly upright position, only the tilted backwards head (and the light snoring escaping his slightly opened lips) letting on that he was also sleeping. The TV was still on, its light flickering across the faces of the sleeping beauties, but apparently on mute. Iris tiptoed closer to get a look on the screen to confirm her suspicions – and yes, the DVD menu of _**'Singin' in the Rain'**_ was currently playing on loop. Rolling her eyes, Iris fished out her cellphone out of her purse, snapped a few pictures for the family album and then went on to tiptoe behind the couch. Standing now right behind her husband, Iris bent over to press a soft kiss on his forehead, gently waking him up.

"Hmm?" Barry murmured drowsily, before cracking open one eye to see his wife smiling down on him.

"Hey sleepy head," Iris greeted him, watching a wide, goofy grin spread across her husband's face.

"You're back," Barry whispered happily, then craned his neck to claim Iris's lips for another kiss (his arms were rendered completely useless due to the two children clinging to them).

"Mhm," Iris hummed in affirmation, relishing that kiss.

After they had broken apart, she couldn't help but point out: "And you guys are still not in bed."

"Must have fallen asleep right after the movie," Barry said apologetically.

Iris nodded at the TV, eyebrows raised in a accusatory manner: "_**'Singin' in the Rain'**_? Again?"

"Hey," Barry protested softly, while starting to carefully untangle himself from the twins," **they** requested it."

"Only because you watched it with them every single time I wasn't at home – you've practically conditioned them to want to watch this movie whenever I'm out," Iris joked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's a good movie," Barry defended himself weakly.

"Unbelievable."

Despite her (fake) indignation, Iris could barely stifle a yawn which did not escape Barry's notice.

"How about you get ready for bed and I put our little tornado twins to bed? I had them already brush their teeth and put on their jammies earlier, so it should be just a matter of carrying them over to their beds – after I manage to entangle myself from my blanket prison," Barry joked, and, after inspecting the comfortable cocoon the kids and him were wrapped in tightly, added: "this might take a while."

Iris couldn't help but grin.

"Sounds like a plan," she said, leaning in for one more kiss.

"See you in a bit," she whispered, then sneaked off to the bathroom.

* * *

It didn't take Iris long to finally get ready for bed. When she reentered the living room, it was already empty, the TV turned off and the fuzzy comforter back in its usual place, folded neatly.

Iris headed for the kids' bedroom, which Barry was just coming from, a soft look on his face: "They didn't even wake up once."

Iris mirrored her husband's facial expression.

"Luckily we got ourselves some heavy sleepers. I'll just check up on them real quick, say good night." Iris said, gesturing at the door.

Barry just nodded, smiling knowingly.

"Well, I'll get ready for bed **real** quick," he said teasingly, causing Iris to roll her eyes at him. A short, sweet peck on her cheek later, Barry disappeared with a familiar _whoosh_ in the direction of the bathroom. Iris had barely entered the twins' bedroom, when she could already hear the door of the master bedroom open and close.

Drawing closer to their beds, Iris could see her little tornado twins sleep peacefully, carefully tucked in by their father. Iris couldn't help but notice with a smile that Don had already started kicking and twisting his blanket – he always woke up with his blanket at right angle, its end hanging off the shorter side of the bed instead of covering his feet. Iris picked up one of the quilts piled on the nearby chair (from their most recent blanket fort) and carefully spread it over the end of his bed, hoping that at least one blanket was going to stay in place to keep her son's feet warm. Dawn on the other hand, was curled up into a tiny ball underneath her blanket, only her head of curly hair and her plushie peeping out. Giving each of the twins a soft goodnight kiss, Iris tiptoed out of the kids' bedroom, making a mental note to herself to pick out an extra long bedtime story for tomorrow evening. After sneaking one more glance at her kids, Iris quietly closed the door and headed for the master bedroom, each step making her more and more aware of her own tiredness.

Being finally able to crawl into her own comfy bed, into the spot right next to her husband, felt like a true blessing to Iris. And although his eyes were already closed, Iris knew that Barry was still awake, his strong arms immediately wrapping her into that warm, welcoming hug she had been craving the entire day.

"G'night, Bear," Iris sighed, burrowing herself deeper into Barry's chest.

Just about to fall asleep, Iris almost didn't catch Barry's hummed response: "'Tis too late to say g'night."

Even though she was already too sleepy to put much force into it, Iris mustered up enough strength to swat her husband's chest (albeit feebly), and let out a growl.

She could feel Barry's chuckle reverberate underneath her hands that were still resting on his chest, followed by a gentle kiss being pressed onto her hair.

She barely heard Barry's soft "g'morning, Iris," before finally drifting off to sleep.

**Fin.**

* * *

**Please let me know how you guys liked it :)  
**

** I'll try to finish up the third part of 'Rush Hour' soon and then turn my focus back on 'Loveable Nerds and Superheroes II'... if no other story ideas will interfere ;)  
**


	25. Run Barry Run

**Former chapter 16 in this compilation (I just thought it would be nicer to read all the parts of Rush Hour one after the other.)  
**

**Run Barry, Run!**

4 weeks! Iris had been gone for 4 weeks and Barry had just decided to shoot up like weed while she was gone visiting Grandma Esther and her best friends had stayed at home, working on a project for some upcoming science fair.

Barry seemed very happy with that. Sure, he was even more clumsy than usual, still figuring out how to coordinate his limbs properly but overall he quite enjoyed showing off his new height.

Iris hated it.

She was so used to being taller than him, protecting him from bullies. (Not that she would stop protecting him from the likes of Tony Woodward, but she was going to look a lot less threatening with Barry towering over her.)

And now she was forced to jump ridiculously in front of the kitchen cupboard, trying to reach the fresh bag of flour on the shelf, so she could proceed with the newest 'best-brownie' recipe she had dug up, because she was **not** going to ask Barry for help. Nuh-uh.

"Should I get you a stool?" her best friend's amused voice sounded from behind her.

"No, thank you," Iris gnarled through gritted teeth, still bouncing up and down like an idiot.

Hop. Hop. Her fingers brushed the packet. Hop.

"Come on, Iris," Barry said, drawing closer, "this is just silly." Now he was standing right behind her, looming over her, "I can just-"

"No, I've got it, Barry," Iris hissed stubbornly, whipping around, only to bump into his chest. Barry was caught off-guard by their collision, the bag of flour he had already reached for slipping from his grasp. He barely managed to tighten his grip around the flour pack just in time to prevent it from falling down. However, the sudden movement caused the bottom of the bag to rip open – showering Iris with its 16 oz. content.

Startled, Iris first breathed in a mouthful, just to immediately cough it out again. Furiously, she rubbed the flour out of her eyes, fixing Barry with a menacing stare.

"**Bartholomew**. **Henry**. **Allen**."

Barry started running.

**Fin.**

* * *

**It's short, it's silly, it came to my mind when I baked brownies today (to keep myself from going nuts from revising... gosh)... I noticed that my chapters and stuff have gotten longer - which is great, but I also realized that I'm having a hard time keeping things short (I tend to ramble, I know ^^;) so I thought that it would be a good exercise to try writing shorter pieces (especially with the limited amount of time I have right now). What do you think?  
**


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